


Pokemon Rider

by Aubrie1234



Series: Pokemon Rider!verse [1]
Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alola's story will be based around the games, Ash goes as far as Kalos and that's it, F/M, More Tags Will Be Added as the Story Goes On, Music has a big part in the story, Never Say Die hasn't happened to Alex only Scorpia Rising has, Possible OOCness, Prophecies, Reincarnation, The PokeDex Holders show up, friendship/family, temporary memory loss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-03-10 16:31:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 74,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13505400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aubrie1234/pseuds/Aubrie1234
Summary: One day, Alex is transported to the Pokemon World with no idea how to get home or how he got there, so for the time being, he has his own journey. He captures pokemon and makes his way through many challenges, meeting many new friends and people he used to know while trying to find a way back home. But something big is happening, something he might not be able to handle on his own, which forces Alex to ask for help against the oncoming storm.He may also find a family along the way, a real one that he can trust with his life and that will trust him back. It may be a bit dysfunctional, but it's a family nonetheless. And that's all a boy such as he could ever ask for."I'm half-doomed and you're semi-sweet..."





	1. Beginnings (or where Lavender Town is your Hometown)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, all! This is a story I originally posted on FanFiction, but now I'm adding it over here for others to enjoy! I'll add notes to the ends to help with what's going on in the chapter at the time and there will be a separate little story in the series that will help keep up with pokemon levels, what pokemon they have, etc. Now, here are some notes for this story that I want to point out:
> 
> 1\. It may not seem too good, since I first published it in 2015, so please don't roast me because of how bad I was back then.
> 
> 2\. I'm doing my best with this story, but if I make a mistake, please tell me so I can fix it. I want to make this thing the best it can be, since it's going to be quite long.
> 
> 3\. Originally when I posted this, I didn't like cursing in my stories but wanted it there, so curses will be partially blocked out.
> 
> 4\. Since most of this is going to be viewed by Alex, it's like your journey is starting over again. He doesn't know anything about the Pokemon World, so if things seem strange, keep that in mind.
> 
> Now, I may add more to this note later, but for now, I hope you guys like it!

Alex groaned, starting to stir. He felt horrible, like someone had used him as a punching bag; the last thing he remembered was going to bed, but he could that's not where he was. He could feel blades of grass between his fingers and when he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the ground, in the middle of a field of grass. He sat up, looking around, confused. Why was he here? Had he been kidnapped again? Somehow, he doubted it. He stood, dusting himself off, and looked himself over. He wore a long-sleeved black jacket, a red T-shirt with black edges, blue pants also with black edges and a black belt, and black, white, red, and orange shoes. Looking around, he found a path leading away from the grass a small distance away, along with another path opposite of it. He went to follow the first path, wondering where he was and hoping that nothing was going to go wrong.

* * *

Alex found himself at the edge of a town, with a sign that said, quite clearly: LAVENDER TOWN, A SMALL TOWN COVERED IN A BEAUTIFUL HUE OF PURPLE. The town seemed normal, with the exception of the fog, and there was a large tower in the distance.

 _Maybe someone here can tell me where I am, since I'm obviously not in Britain anymore, and I've never heard of Lavender Town._ he thought and walked into the town. No one seemed to be out, which made Alex tense, since at least someone should have been walking along besides him. There were some homes, but the shutters were shut and everything about them screamed the words: 'Stay away!' Eventually, Alex came across a large building, bigger than the others except the tower, and there was a big  _P_  on the roof. Alex walked inside, looking around.

"Hello." there was a pink-haired woman behind the counter, "Do you need help?"

"Yes, I'd like to know where I am." Alex said.

"You're in Lavender Town, in Kanto. I'm Nurse Joy."

"I'm Alex. But, I've never been here before. I was just sleeping in my bed, in my own house, when I woke up and found myself in a grass field outside of town." Nurse Joy nodded.

"I see. Here, why don't you come with me and tell me everything? You're obviously not from around here." Joy walked from the back of the counter and deeper into the building, to which Alex followed; it reminded him of a hospital, but with a happier air, even in the town's strangeness. They soon came across a room, which she let Alex in, then said she would come back to hear his story after making sure her staff was taking care of the patients; then the door was closed, leaving Alex in the hospital-like room. He sat on the bed and thought.

 _I'm in someplace called Kanto, wherever that is, and there's a pink-haired woman who works at a strange hospital. The pink hair seemed natural, and I don't think anyone could do something so big, so how did I get here? This can't be my world._ Alex thought. Soon, Nurse Joy came back in and closed the door behind her before sitting in the seat beside the bed.

"Alright, Alex, where do you come from?"

"Chelsea, in Britain."

"There's no Britain, or Chelsea, here, so you must be from another world."

"I guessed that. What world am I in now?"

"This is the Pokemon World, inhabited by humans and creatures called pokemon. This building is a Pokemon Center, a hospital for pokemon. There are over 700 types of pokemon in this world, and people can catch them for companionship, battling, profit, and many things. Pokemon also come in 18 different types, and they can sometimes have two different types; each type has it's own strengths and weaknesses, but I can't explain them all that well, so you might have to learn that from someone else." she said. Alex nodded.

"I see. And are there other places besides Kanto?"

"Yes." Joy nodded, "In total, there are five other regions besides Kanto, all with their own cities and towns. They are Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos."

"And is Lavender Town always like this, with the fog and no one around?" Joy shook her head.

"No, it's usually a great place to live, but I guess that because of what's been happening lately, everyone is scared."

"What's been happening?" Alex was curious.

"I can't tell you much, but Mr. Fuji can tell you everything."

"Mr. Fuji?"

"He's from Cinnabar Island, another part of Kanto, and he's the owner and founder of the Lavender Volunteer Pokemon House. It's closer to the tower, also known as the Pokemon Tower; it's like a graveyard for the pokemon of Kanto, and each region has a special place like this one. Anyway, I'm sure you can find it, but be careful." she stood up, as did Alex, "Strange things have been happening ever since a few days ago, and many think that there are ghosts around."

"Ghosts?" Joy nodded.

"Yes, the ghosts of pokemon from the tower. This hasn't happened before, and it's got everyone worried and scared."

"I'll be careful then." Joy let him out of the room and he waved goodbye as he left. He followed the nurse's advice and went towards the tower, eventually catching sight of a sign in front of a house, which read: LAVENDER VOLUNTEER POKEMON HOUSE. Alex knocked and waited, to where the door was soon opened by a young girl, about his age.

"Hello." she said, "Who are you?"

"I'm Alex. Nurse Joy sent me here to talk to Mr. Fuji."

"He's at the tower right now, but you can come in." she opened the door wider and allowed Alex inside. He looked around to see the place filled with strange creatures, which he assumed were the pokemon.

"I'm Reina, one of the workers here at the Pokemon House, and Mr. Fuji's granddaughter." she said, closing the door, "We take care of abandoned or orphaned pokemon, like the ones you see here." Many of them were looking at Alex curiously, except for one. It looked like a miniature brown dinosaur with a skull on its head, and it was carrying a bone. It was in the pen in the corner of the room and was eating, but not looking at him at all. Reina followed his gaze and sighed.

"That's Cubone." she said, "You see, his mother was killed by Team Rocket a while back, and he's been distant towards everyone except for Mr. Fuji and myself. He doesn't take kindly to anyone else, especially strangers, so I suggest you don't go near him for a while." Alex nodded, but kept looking at Cubone. He also took the time to learn more about the pokemon in the house and explained his situation of Reina. They were sitting on the couch when he finished.

"I see. Well, I hope you can go home soon." she said, "It must be strange, going to sleep and waking up in a different world. Anyway, I can tell you a bit of what's been going on. You see, the bad guys of this region, called Team Rocket, came here a few weeks ago and took the tower as their hideout, and grandpa was furious. Especially when they killed the Marowak as it was protecting Cubone. He went up there this morning to make the leave, but he hasn't been back since, and I'm worried. The townspeople are too scared of the rumors of ghosts around, so they won't help, and I don't have any pokemon I can use to go after him."

"Why don't we go together?" Alex suggested. She shook her head.

"It's still too dangerous. Without a pokemon, we could get attacked and seriously hurt." Just then, Cubone walked up to them.

"Cu?" He was looking at Alex curiously.

"Hello." Alex said to the pokemon, then to Reina, "Reina, didn't you say Cubone didn't like strangers?"

"Yes, so I don't know why he's like this." Cubone tried getting up onto the couch to sit with Alex, but couldn't until Alex helped him up. When Alex looked into the pokemon's eyes, he could see understanding in them, like the Cubone understood him in a special way, which only he and Alex could see. Alex then understood why the Cubone was so friendly with him. Alex turned back to Reina.

"I think I do. When I was young, about a year old, my parents were also killed, and I think Cubone can see that somehow, and knows that we're alike. I think he wants to help us." he turned back to the pokemon, "Is that right?"

"Bone!" Cubone nodded.

"If you guys want to." Reina said, "I'll show you to the tower and we can start going after grandpa." Alex picked up Cubone and the three set out to the tower.

* * *

Once they were at the bottom, they stopped and looked up.

"It seems...spooky, almost." Alex said.

"Yes, but Mr. Fuji is in there somewhere, and we have to help him."

"Cu!" Cubone nodded. They entered and Reina led the way.

"Team Rocket took the top floor for themselves, so that's where we can find Grandpa." They made their way up with no one trying to stop them and soon, they were at the entrance to the seventh floor, which was also the top floor.

"Careful." Reina said, "Team Rocket is tough." Alex and Cubone nodded and they went inside. At the end, near a shrine, there were three people surrounding a tied-up old man, and they had matching uniforms. Alex guessed that they were some of Team Rocket and that the old man was Mr. Fuji. Cubone hopped out of his arms and ran with them, getting close to the men.

"Let him go, Team Rocket!" Reina said.

"Reina!" Mr. Fuji said, spotting her.

"Well, old man, looks like you have a rescue committee. Go, Golbat!" one of the Rockets threw a red and white sphere, which opened and let out a stream of light. The light formed into a bug, bat-like blue-and-purple pokemon with a gaping mouth. Cubone glared.

"If you and your Cubone can beat us, we'll let the old man go and leave." the Rocket said, "Now, Golbat, Wing Attack!" The pokemon's wings glow and it dashed them against Cubone, who managed to block with his bone.

"Cubone, Leer!" Reina said. The little pokemon glared deeper and Golbat tried not to look scared.

"Swift!" The Golbat shot out stars from it's mouth, all heading towards Cubone. Reina didn't look sure what to do, so Alex jumped in.

"Hit them back with your club!" he said. Cubone did just that, damaging the Golbat, especially with its decreased defense.

"Headbutt!" Reina said. Before the Rockets could do anything, Cubone had headbutt Golbat and, as a critical hit, the bat-like pokemon was knocked out. It was then returned as another Rocket came up.

"You'll pay for that! Go, Drowzee!" another Rocket sent out a yellow and brown bipedal tapir-like pokemon, "Use Meditate!" Drowzee closed its eyes and stood still before opening them again.

"Meditate increases the user's attack by one level." Reina whispered an explanation to Alex, whom nodded.

"Leer!" Alex said, copying what Reina had said earlier. The little pokemon glared even harder once again, also fazing Drowzee.

"Psybeam!" A beam of multicolored light shot out of Drowzee's mouth and hit Cubone, but the pokemon was still ready for battle.

"Bonemerang!" Reina said. Cubone threw his bone at Drowzee, hitting it, and the bone flew back around to hit Drowzee at least four more times, giving it five hits in total.

"Psybeam!" With some quick thinking, Alex called out: "Dodge it!" Cubone successfully dodged the beam, "Headbutt!" Cubone ran forward and hit Drowzee, knocking the pokemon out. As the Rocket returned it, Reina whisper-commented, "You're a natural!"

"Thanks." Alex said as another Rocket threw out another pokemon.

"Go, Raticate!" This pokemon looked like a large, fuzzy brown rat with over-sized teeth, and it growled menacingly.

"Scary Face!" The Raticate made a terrifying face, scaring Cubone quite well. The little pokemon was on the verge of tears until Alex called to it.

"It's okay, Cubone! It's only trying to scare you, so don't let it!" Cubone nodded, feeling stronger at Alex's encouragement.

"Talking to your pokemon isn't going to help it! One more hit and we win!" the lead Rocket said.

"We'll see about that." Reina said, "Cubone, Bone Club!" Cubone rushed forward once again and hit the Raticate on the head with his club.

"Pursuit!" The Raticate was covered in a dark aura before charging.

"Dodge, Cubone!" Alex said. The little pokemon leapt over the Raticate, dodging the attack, "Leer then Bonemerang!" Cubone glared, stopping Raticate, before throwing his bone and hitting the rat-like pokemon three times, defeating the pokemon.

"We won, Team Rocket, so now you have to leave." Alex growled as the Rocket returned his pokemon.

"Let's make a break for it!" The Rockets ran and Reina went to untie her grandfather. Alex picked up Cubone and examined his injuries.

"The Air Cutter and Meditate-powered Psybeam really hurt you. But, as soon as we're out of here, we'll go to the Pokemon Center and see Nurse Joy, okay?" Cubone nodded happily.

"Are you okay, grandpa?" Reina asked as she helped the old man to his feet.

"Yes, thank you, Reina. And who might this be?"

"This is Alex, he's the one who helped me come up here and save you, along with Cubone."

"The same Cubone?" She nodded.

"Yeah, and it seems like Alex is from a different world and we don't know why he's here."

"I see." Mr. Fuji nodded, "Yes, well, I can't leave just yet. The ghost of Marowak has been restless, causing some of the ghost appearances around town, and I also came up here to try and help it settle."

"Cubone..." Cubone said sadly.

"I'm sure she only wants to see you one last time, Cubone." Alex reassured, "If I died and I had a child, I would try to stay around and give he or she one last goodbye."

 _"You understand?"_ it was a soft, yet rocky voice from behind him, and Alex turned to see a light-colored aura surrounding what he presumed was the Marowak, since she looked so much like Cubone.

"Cubone!" Cubone scrambled out of Alex's arms and hugged his mother, crying.

 _"It's okay, baby."_ she said to him, then looked back up at Alex,  _"You understand my pain?"_ He nodded.

"Yes; I've lost many people who were very dear to me, and I know that I would do the same as you if I died instead of them, just to see them one last time and give them reassurance." She nodded at his words.

 _"Thank you. I want to ask something of you, though. Will you take care of my son for me?"_ This surprised Alex, but he nodded.

 _"Cubone, do you want this boy to take care of you?"_ she asked Cubone, whom nodded very vigorously. Marowak nodded.

 _"Thank you. On Cubone's permission, you may name him. And Cubone, don't forget Mommy, okay?"_ Cubone hugged her one last time before she faded away, and Alex crouched to pat him on the head.

"Marowak is finally at rest now." Mr. Fuji said, he and Reina having seen and heard everything.

"So, you'll take care of Cubone now, Alex?" Reina asked.

"Yeah." Alex said, then turned back to the little pokemon, "Don't worry. She's okay now, and she loves you very much. She's still with you, in a way; deep inside your heart, you can keep a special place in there for her, so you'll never forget her. At least you knew your mother for a time." Alex sighed, "I lost mine when I was about a year old. She and my father were flying on a plane to France, back in my world, but I had to stay with a nanny because of an ear infection, and the place blew up. Neither of them survived, and I didn't really know them. That's why you're lucky, Cubone. Never forget your parents." Alex picked up the pokemon, whom grabbed his jacket tightly.

"You've gone through a bit of a tough time, but you managed to push through. I think I should call you Survivor. What do you think?"

"Cu!" Cubone nodded and Alex smiled.

"Survivor it is, then." They all then left the tower, and the fog was gone. Alex and Reina brought Cubone to the Pokemon Center while Mr. Fuji went back to the Pokemon House to check on the pokemon, and people seemed to be starting to come back into the streets, not scared anymore. Alex was glad at that, since they really had nothing to fear in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, there are only two notes for this chapter:
> 
> 1\. Survivor is going to be sort of like Pikachu through this story. He can stand being in his pokeball but doesn't prefer it, so he'll usually be out and about.
> 
> 2\. Survivor isn't Alex's first pokemon. He actually has another, but he doesn't know about the other pokemon yet.


	2. The Journey Starts Here

"Impressive." Nurse Joy commented as she healed Survivor, "Very rarely do I encounter someone like you who has such a way with pokemon."

"Chansey!" agreed her partner, a giant pink blob-thing with an egg-filled pouch.

"Thanks." Alex blushed as Reina laughed.

"So, what are you going to do now, Alex?" the younger girl asked. He shrugged.

"Don't know. I guess I'll try being a pokemon trainer, at least until I can find a way home."

"In that case, you'll need this." Joy left for a moment before coming back with two items. One was a card and the other was a small bone on a string, "The card is a temporary trainer's license. You'll need to get your official one from Professor Oak, the professor of the region."

"Professor?"

"Every region has a researcher that gives starter pokemon to trainers. They study different aspects of the pokemon, such as their evolution, type, and where they live." Reina explained. Alex nodded.

"So I need to go visit him and get my official license. What's with the bone on a string, though?"

"This is a Thick Club." Joy said, giving it to Survivor, "The name is a bit misleading, but when given to Marowak or Cubone, it increases their attack. Their are other items out there, each with their own special abilities." Survivor slipped the string over his head, feeling the power it gave him.

"I may be able to be on good terms with pokemon, but I've still got a lot to learn." Alex mused, rubbing his partner's head.

"Cu..." the ground-type trilled in happiness.

"Anyway, if you want to get to Professor Oak, I can give you a lift." Reina offered, "We just need to stop by the Pokemon House right quick."

"Survivor is all healed up, so off you go!" Joy said. The kids waved goodbye as they left, Survivor in Alex's arms.

"Why do we need to stop by there?"

"There's a few things I want to tell you before you leave." They soon came upon the house and entered. Fuji was waiting for them.

"Good timing!" he said, "Alex, there are a few gifts I wish to give you for your help." he held out a flute with a ball on one end, reminiscent of the ones the Rockets had thrown to release their pokemon. Alex took it hesitantly, "This is a PokeFlute. It will awaken any sleeping pokemon when played."

"Grandpa, do you have any leftover pokeballs? Alex is thinking of being a pokemon trainer while he tries to find a way home." Mr. Fuji nodded.

"I thought he might. Here are five to get you started, including Cubone's pokeball," he handed the boy the pokeballs, "and follow me so I can give you the second part of your gift." Curious, the kids followed him deeper into the house, where they came upon a nursery.

"Wow..." Alex breathed, catching sight of all the giant eggs. Fuji went over and took a case from a shelf. The egg inside was red on the bottom, black the rest of the way with a white band around the middle.

"This is a Houndour egg." he explained, "I thought long and hard about giving you such responsibility, Alex, but I think you will be able to handle it. On top is a pokeball for when it hatches and under the blanket are a few other items that will help you raise it."

"Well, before you leave all this stuff with me, I don't have a bag to put it all in." Alex commented.

"Here's one." Reina handed him a white single strap backpack with red highlights, "We keep plenty of these around in case we need to leave for a long time."

"Thanks." he slipped it on after putting the flute and pokeballs inside, then took the egg.

"Bone cubone cu cu bo cubonecu bo bone."  _(You're putting a lot of responsibility on him.)_  Survivor said. Alex blinked, finding he could somehow understand the Cubone, which probably wasn't natural.

"This may be a lot of responsibility, but I truly believe Alex can handle it." Mr. Fuji answered. Slowly, Survivor nodded.

"Cubone..."  _(Alright...)_

"Now come on, let me show you how I'm going to get you to Professor Oak's." Mr. Fuji followed as Reina dragged Alex out back, were there were a few nesting flying pokemon. A few flew down to meet them, such as a giant brown crow with a comb, a large red and light blue peregrine falcon, and a giant brown, white, yellow, and red bird with what looked like hair coming from its forehead. They were, respectively, a Fearow, Talonflame, and Pidgeot.

"All of these guys know the move Fly, which is a Hidden Machine move." Reina explained, "Hidden Machines are moves the pokemon use outside of battle, but only with the right item, such as a Gym Badge. As for Fly itself, it allows the pokemon to take you to a city you've been before. Lucky for you, Fearow and Pidgeot have been all over Kanto, so they can take you to Professor Oak's. Talonflame came here just recently from Kalos and is still trying to adjust." she rubbed the fire- and flying-type's head, making it trill in happiness, "So, who will it be?" Alex looked at the two pokemon. He was tempted to pick Pidgeot, but noticed Fearow looked ready for rejection, as if it was used to it by now. Feeling sorry for the poor pokemon, Alex rubbed its beak.

"I'll borrow Fearow." Pidgeot's jaw dropped before it began to sputter in anger, Fearow squawking happily.

"Good luck then!" Alex climbed onto the bird's back, putting the case into his backpack before holding onto Fearow's feathers. Survivor then climbed onto him, holding his shoulders tightly. Despite his fear, it seemed he didn't want to go into his pokeball just yet.

"Be safe, lad!"

"Don't worry, I will!" The teen gave them nods before Fearow took off. He couldn't help but gasp at the landscape that quickly spread below him. Everything looked beautiful, full of life and color. He hadn't seen something like this since...since his first official encounter with Scorpia, back during the balloon fight and ride. He shivered slightly as he remembered and tried to repress the memory. Survivor noticed but didn't dare open his eyes, too afraid to do so. Alex chuckled at how white-knuckled Survivor was holding onto his jacket, but said nothing. They would be back on the ground soon enough. Towns and cities, mountains and waterways, plains and forests, everything flew by underneath them and Alex hoped to catch a flying pokemon so he could experience this all over again. All too soon they landed in a small town in a field, at the gates in front of a windmill on top of a hill. A sign beside the gates read: OAK LABORATORY.

"Thanks a lot, Fearow." Alex climbed off, Survivor still holding tight to him. The giant crow nodded before taking back to the skies and Lavender Town. Turning to the gates, the blond didn't see a doorbell, so he pushed. To his surprise and suspicious nature, the gates swung open. He had no idea what to expect, so he cautiously made his way up to the windmill. He wanted to knock, but with his spy senses on high, he tried the knob. The door swung open as well. Now he was truly on high alert. What was going on? Was this man truly careless?

Survivor hopped down, looking around with Alex. All was quiet in the building, which was why they were startled when they heard a sudden clack of claws on the floor. Around the corner ran a small black and red fox with blue eyes. Seeing them, it skidded to a stop and tried to go back, but not before it was picked up by the boy. He could see the fear in its eyes and, much against his better judgement, decided to try and calm it.

"Easy, shh..." he scratched it behind the ears as there was more pounding of feet, these sounding human.

"Zoru-!" Around the corner came two people, who skidded to a stop at the sight. The fox curled into Alex's arms, shivering a little. He held it protectively in response, Survivor readying his club as well. The elder man, the one with the large locks of brown hair, held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Easy, there's no need to fight!" he said, "But thanks for catching Zorua for us."

"Are you Professor Oak?"

"Sort of. I'm his grandson, Gary, and this is Tracy." The dark green-haired man carrying a sketchpad waved, "We're his assistants and were taking of Zorua when he ran off."

"He doesn't seem to like you much. I'm Alex, by the way, and that's Survivor." The Cubone nodded, lowering his club upon feeling no danger from the two.

"We know." Tracy sighed, "Come inside so we can talk some more, okay?" Hesitantly, Alex nodded. Survivor closed the door and the two followed Gary and Tracy into a living room.

"Zorua is a new addition to the lab, a gift from Professor Juniper in Unova." Gary began as they sat on the couches, Alex with the pokemon while Gary and Tracy sat together on the other, "Zoruas and their evolved forms, Zoroarks, have the ability to create and control illusions. Professor Juniper gave Gramps an egg to raise to see how interaction with humans and pokemon would affect the illusions. So far no illusion have been made yet and Zorua is afraid of us. He likes Gramps but is terrified of us for some reason."

"He's also got a quick temper, as strange as that sounds." Tracy added, "We were lucky you managed to grab him before he got out of sight. We didn't want another 'Rowan Incident' on our hands."

"Rowan incident?" Alex was curious. Tracy explained.

"Sinnoh, the fourth region, has Professor Rowan, who studies pokemon evolution. Dawn, a friend of ours, went there to get her first pokemon a few years ago and got caught up in a disaster where a Chimchar, one of the Sinnoh starter pokemon, managed to escape. Luckily she managed to get it back before more things went wrong, and we've always referred to it as the Rowan Incident ever since."

"I see." Seeing that he could trust them, Alex decided to tell his story, "Is Professor Oak here?"

"No, he's in Johto doing his talkshow. Why?" The Brit smiled.

"I've got a bit of a story to tell. You see..."

* * *

Another blond, this one a man, happened to have a groggy and headache-filled awakening in Granite Cave, several hundred miles away. He allowed his headache to fade before he sat up, looking around. He found it strange to wake up in a cave, but knew it couldn't have just happened out of nowhere. All he remembered was going to sleep after a long day, honestly. Standing, he looked at himself, surprised to find new clothes. He now wore a black jacket with green highlights, black fingerless gloves, white belt with a holster and a black gun, green cargo pants, and black and green shoes with white sides. It was then he heard the echoes of metal twisting and breaking, along with crunching. Looking around, he quickly found the culprit behind a few large rocks. It was a large, dark green sports bag and some sort of metallic white and gray creature had its head inside.

Cautiously, he approached it. It raised its head at his footsteps, meeting his blue eyes with its own bright blue ones. With its head raised, the man could see that it had been chomping down on a small revolver. Ammunition, a rifle, and several small guns could also be seen in the sack. Seeing him as no threat, the creature went back to chewing on the gun. Shaking his head, the man bent down and picked the small creature up. It continued to each the gun while looking at him.

"What a curious thing you are." he said, "Guns are not to be eaten, though. I suppose you could finish the one at hand, however."

"Aro ron ron?" _(Who are you?)_ The man blinked, surprised to be able to understand it.

"You can call me Yasha. Do you have a name?" The creature shook its head, "Then since you like metal so much, I shall name you Ore. What do you think?"

"Aron!" the create nodded and clapped its stubby front feet together. Yasha smiled at the cuteness.

"Perhaps you could tell me where I am, then? And maybe I could use some help in finding a way home."

"Aro aron!"  _(I'll help!)_  If Ore had a tail, it would have wagged.

* * *

"...and that's it." All was quiet after Alex had finished. Zorua had now calmed down enough to sleep in the youngest's arms, snoring softly.

"Huh." Gary said, not really all that surprised, "Ashy-Boy has been through a lot, but I've never heard something like that. Not that we won't help you, though. So you need a license?" Alex nodded.

"Can you get one for me?"

"Sure. I'll be right back." Gary stood and left the room.

"'Ashy-Boy' is the guy who brought us together." Tracy explained, having seen the confused look on the blond's face at the name, "His name is Ash Ketchum and comes from here, just like Gary. They're even the same age."

"Where am I, exactly?"

"Pallet Town. Anyway, those two used to be such rivals, until Ash beat Gary in the Silver Conference. After that, they became good friends."

"What's the Silver Conference?"

"Well, every region has their own Pokemon League, which regulates all of the battling. The conferences are the highest you can get. If you win, you get the chance to fight the Champion and if you beat them, you become the Champion. But you only get a chance to battle in the conferences if you win all 8 Gym Badges."

"I'm assuming each gym is where you battle different trainers?" Tracy nodded.

"Yeah, but you only get the badges when you beat the Gym Leader, and each gym has their own type preference. But if you think the gyms are tough, you haven't encountered the Battle Frontier! There are two different ones, one here in Kanto and the other in Sinnoh. They have different amounts of trainers, Kanto with 7 and Sinnoh with 5, each one known as a Frontier Brain. When you defeat one you earn a symbol that represents what the Brain tries to teach you, such as courage or tactics, and they run facilities similar to gyms, with trainers and such, but don't have type preferences. When you earn all the symbols of that Battle Frontier you have the chance to become a Frontier Brain. Then, of course, they aren't as strong as the Elite Four or the Champion..."

"Who are they?"

"The Elite Four and Champion, just like the gyms, are located in every region and are the absolute toughest trainers  _ever_. The Elite four, also like the gyms, each have their own special pokemon type, but the Champion is unpredictable." Survivor looked up at Alex and they shared a look.

"Maybe, when we get strong enough, Survivor and I will take on the Battle Frontiers." Alex rubbed the Cubone's head, "For now, though, we'll settle on beating gyms."

"You don't have far to go, then." Gary finally came back in, carrying a red square, "The nearest gym is in Viridian City, but way too tough for you right now. The next best choice would be Pewter, which isn't far from Viridian." he gave Alex the square, "That's a PokeDex. It allows you to record information of pokemon, see their moves, their type, etc. It's an older version but it's been updated with the newest information. You should be able to get along just fine with it, since it also acts as your trainer license. Don't lose it." Alex nodded and tucked it into his pocket.

"Thanks. After hearing about all the battling I could get into, though, I think I'd like to spend a few days here to practice. I still don't know the types all that well or battling. Survivor and I have only battled once, after all." The two men shared a look.

"We don't mind, it's just that we don't have room here. You could room with Mrs. Ketchum, though. She's Ashy-Boy's mother and doesn't live far from here. She'll be happy to have you." Gary said. Alex nodded, then remember the egg. He took it out of his backpack, surprising the men.

"Before I left Lavender Town, Mr. Fuji gave this to me. He said it was a Houndour egg and that everything I needed to take care of it was under the blanket. I was wondering if you two could give me some tips on raising it, though."

"Sure, we wouldn't mind." Tracy shrugged. Alex nodded before taking the case off. Carefully he put Zorua down on the couch cushion beside him and took the egg and its blanket into his arms. Underneath, as Mr. Fuji had said, was a small booklet, a dark gray ring with a colorful inset stone, and a black band inset with a red, black, and orange stone.

"No way..." the elders gasped, staring at the stones.

"What is it?"

"Those are stones needed for Mega Evolution!" Gary explained, "The ring has the Key Stone, which the trainer wears, and the band holds the stone for the pokemon, though the item can always differ. I thought Houndoom could Mega Evolve, but to get such a gift as this..."

"Mega Evolution is a recent discovery." Tracy explained, "Houndoom, the evolved form of Houndour, is one of few pokemon who can go through Mega Evolution. It's a special type of evolution that can happen only during battle, with certain mega stones, and if the trainer and pokemon have a strong connection. Not only does it change the pokemon's appearance but it can also change their type and abilities. The stone there, in the band, is Houndoominite, which will only react with Houndoom. Each mega stone reacts with a certain pokemon and mega evolution can't be forced, as Team Rocket tried unsuccessfully. Professor Sycamore of Kalos has actually been looking into this, if you ever want to know more."

"Strange how all the professors are named after trees..." Alex murmured quietly, then said louder, "But how am I supposed to take care of the egg?" Leaning over, Gary picked up the booklet.

"'Guide to Raising Pokemon From Eggs.'" he read aloud, "Good idea Mr. Fuji had, giving you this. Pokemon eggs need a lot of care and this is one of the best things that can teach you about it besides experience. I know a bit about hatching pokemon, as does Tracy, but the one you would need to see is Brock."

"Brock?"

"He used to be the Pewter City Gym Leader, before he started travelling with Ash. He's become a Pokemon Breeder since then and is trying to be a Pokemon Doctor. I'm pretty sure I can ask him to come over, check the egg, and give you some tips if you want." The blond smiled and nodded.

"That would be great. I need all the help I can get."

"Good thing you're going to be training with some professor's assistants then, huh?" Tracy and Gary smiled back and Alex felt that the next few days were going to be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. If you've read Russian Roulette, you know who Yasha is.
> 
> 2\. The reason why neither Alex nor Yasha are freaking out badly about their change in clothes is because it's not like they haven't been though that before.
> 
> 3\. Their clothes and bags reflect their secret pokemon, as Yasha also has a pokemon he got in the beginning that isn't Ore.
> 
> 4\. If you know who Yasha is from the hint above or just in general, then my clarification to you is that he isn't Alex's enemy.


	3. Pallet Town

To help Survivor not be so reliant on Ground- and Normal-type moves, the men decided to teach Alex about moves, TMs, and HMs. Zorua timidly watched from the lab's doorway as the four went outside, bringing the egg (back in its case, along with the other items) with them. He had woken up when Alex moved and felt safe with the boy, but with the men following him about, Zorua was too scared to go with him.

"TMs and HMs are different, as they have different effects, but we'll get into them after teaching you about moves." Gary explained, setting down the stack of HMs and TMs Survivor could learn.

"A pokemon can only know 4 moves." Tracy continued, holding up the same amount of fingers, "To learn a new move, they must either have space for it or must forget an old one. They don't have to be the same type as the pokemon, but it helps because it gives a boost to the attack."

"It's best not only for you but also for your pokemon if you have at least one other type in your move arsenal." Gary added, "Each move also has its own PP, or Power Points. If you run out of PP, you can't use the move anymore. If you can't use any of your moves and you want to attack, Survivor still can with a move known as Struggle. It's one that all pokemon instinctually know that doesn't have to be known or remembered because they  _always_  know it. However, like a few other moves, it gives recoil damage. There are a few abilities that stop the recoil, but we'll go into that later."

"Survivor knows Leer, Headbutt, Bone Club, and Bonemerang." Alex listed the moves on his fingers as he remembered Survivor using them in the battle against the Rockets.

"Because Bone Club and Bonemerang are the same type as Survivor and the fact that Cubones are one of the few pokemon who can use those moves, we won't forget them. That leaves either Leer or Headbutt." Tracy said. The boy looked down to his partner, who nodded and pointed to his skull, indicating he wanted to lose Headbutt.

"He wants to lose Headbutt, I think."

"Good. Leer lowers Defense, which will be helpful in battle until you can find another move to replace it." Gary said, "All of these discs here are TMs or HMs. TMs are Technical Machines and HMs are Hidden Machines. Pokemon learn moves as they level up, the max level 100, but TMs and HMs give them a chance to learn moves they usually wouldn't learn. HMs are different from TMs because they can be used outside of battle, but only with the right accomplishments, such as the right badge. But ever since Alola started this special pokemon training program, HMs have become less used, so we can discard those if you don't want them."

"What do you think?" Survivor shook his head, so Gary picked out two discs from the stack and set them aside. Alex nodded to the Cubone and stepped back to let him pick. Survivor came forward and started going through the stack, quickly finding one he liked. Taking, Alex read the name aloud.

"Brick Break." he raised an eyebrow, looking to the men.

"Brick Break is a Fighting-type move that disregards the effects of Reflect and Light Screen, two defensive Status moves, which we'll talk about later." Tracy explained, "Of course, pokemon don't learn moves right away, they have to practice them, just like people when they practice a sport to get it right. That's one of the things that make pokemon so unique because they have different learning rates, like us."

"But how do I use this to help Survivor learn the move?"

"You put it to the pokemon's forehead and press the name plate." Gary said, "I remember when TMs used to break after the one time they were used, but now you can use them again and again. I wonder why they didn't do this to start with..." Alex rolled his eyes as the two elders mused back on times past, gently placing the disk against Survivor's forehead. The Cubone gave him a determined look before closing his eyes. Alex pressed the name plate, watching it and the disc light up. There was a small whirring sound before the disc went back to normal, allowing the boy to remove it. Survivor blinked opened his eyes and gave Alex a happy cheer, making him smile.

"Now you two just need to practice with the move." Alex looked up as the brown-haired man gathered the discs, the green-haired one talking. Nodding, he handed Brick Break back to the two.

"Is it alright if Survivor and I explore the place for somewhere to practice?"

"Sure, just try not to disturb the other pokemon around here." Gary murmured, his arms weighed down by the amount of TMs and the 2 HMs. Alex gave them both a single-handed wave (the other hand still held the egg) before he and Survivor headed out to explore. Unknown to all of them and most likely going to worry the men, Zorua slipped out to follow Survivor and Alex.

* * *

"I didn't just want to come out here to help you practice." the boy admitted once they were far enough away, "I also want a few answers, if you can give them. I also need to ask Gary and Tracy where Alola is, since I have no idea where that is."

"Cu cu bone cubone bonecu bone cubonecu."  _(It's a new region humans have discovered.)_  Survivor explained, "Bone, cu bone cubo bone cubone cubo cu bo bo bonecu bo cubo bone, bone cubone bone bonecu bone."  _(Well, it's more like they finally found a way to connect to each other, since humans were already there.)_  Alex nodded.

"Got it. But that still doesn't explain why I'm here." he stopped walking, "I was minding my own business in my world when I suddenly get dragged here. I have little idea of where I am or what to do, but I must have been brought here for a  _reason_. I just wish I knew what that  _was_." The Cubone gently tugged on the leg of his pants.

"Cu bone cu cu cubone cu bone."  _(I'm sure we can figure it out.)_  Survivor assured. Alex smiled and nodded.

"You're right. It's not like I really have anything to go back to, after all. I left behind the only two friends I had, but after what I've been through, I just wish I had someone I could tell who would understand." At this his smile fell and Survivor tried to think up a way to bring it back. It was then Zorua decided to speak up.

"Z-zorua zo ruazo rua zo."  _(M-maybe you could tell us.)_  The two turned to see Zorua standing behind them. The little fox was still a bit nervous, but held himself up proudly. That made Alex smile again.

"I guess I could, but I don't want to burden you both with such words. These words, words you would have to keep secret, are more powerful than you would imagine. But let's not get into all that, okay?" Alex knelt down, "Why did you follow us?" Those words triggered Zorua's temper. He frowned and puffed himself up more, trying to look intimidating.

"Zo rua rua! Zo rua ruzo zoruazo zo rua rua!"  _(I was not! I was only keeping an eye out!)_

"Sure you were. But we don't mind if you come with us." Survivor shook his head in agreement to Alex's words. Zorua lit up.

"Z-zorua?!"  _(R-really?!)_  When they nodded again he launched himself into Alex's arms, tail wagging, "Zorua rua! Zo ruzo ruzo zorua rua Zoruazorua Zo, rua Zo ruzo zo rua zo zorua zo ruzo zo rua rua ruzo rua zorua zo zoruazo!"  _(Thank you! I like this place and Professor Oak, but I want to have a chance to live my own way and get over my timidness!)_

"I don't think Gary and Tracy will be happy, but I bet they'll let you come with me, if for only your happiness." Alex let go and stood, "Now why don't we find a place to practice so those guys won't this we didn't do anything? And I do want to explore this place, since it looks so cool." The two pokemon followed him as he walked away.

* * *

Much to everyone's surprise, Survivor learned Brick Break right off the bat. And, as Alex had predicted, Gary and Tracy weren't happy about Zorua's decision. Professor Oak, however, was just fine with it when he was informed. He thought it would be better for Zorua to be with Alex, as travelling might help the little fox bring forth and control his illusions. So, after things were settled and Zorua became part of Alex's team, he nicknamed the Dark-type Illusion. That also allowed Gary and Tracy to go more into their 'Abilities' and 'Type vs. Type' talks, now with two pokemon to help Alex understand the differences. By the end of the day, the blond wondered how he was managing to keep everything straight.

He walked to the Ketchum place with Survivor and Illusion in tow, the egg back in his backpack. He hadn't had a chance to meet Mrs. Ketchum until now, so he really hoped she would accept. Alex stopped at the small wooden gate, hesitating. He could just sleep elsewhere, he knew, but they were trying to show him hospitality. He might as well accept it. Pushing open the gate, the three entered. They went to the door and the boy knocked, still feeling he was out of his depth. He had been all day, but for some reason the feeling was a lot stronger.

"Mime?" Alex blinked when the door was answered by a pink, mime-like creature.

"Who's there?" A woman peeked out of the kitchen and from the smell, it looked like she was fixing dinner. It made Alex's mouth water, along with his pokemon's.

"You're Mrs. Ketchum, right?"

"Yes... Oh! You must be Alex, the boy Gary told me about! Please, come inside!"

"Mime!" the pink pokemon stepped aside, allowing Alex, Illusion, and Survivor to enter. The Zorua was sticking close to Alex in fright, very wary of his surroundings.

"You can call me Delia if you want. The Mr. Mime is Mimey, he lives with me, even though he's a wild pokemon." she explained, beckoning him to the kitchen, "As for what Gary told me, you can stay for as long as you want, we don't mind. It gets lonely sometimes, you know?"

"You mean with Ash always away?" Delia nodded, "But how much did he tell you?"

"Only that you're from another world and trying to find out how to be a trainer. Now come on, I doubt you've eaten all day!"

"Now that you mention it..." The woman dragged Alex into the kitchen with her. Illusion, of course, stuck close to the boy while Survivor talked with Mimey. It seemed things were beginning to settle down.

* * *

Several thousand miles away, in Unova, a similar-looking boy and his Pawniard were looking down at Nuvema Town together. The boy wore a dark blue windbreaker over a light blue shirt, black pants, a rainbow-colored belt, and dark blue shoes with light blue highlights. However, these two were not there to have fun.

"Blade," said the boy, a malicious grin on his face, "why don't we start our journey here?"

"Pawn..." If the Pawniard had a mouth, it would have smirked as it sharpened its handblades together.

* * *

Alex stared up at the ceiling. He had been given the option of Ash's room or the guest room to sleep in, where he chose the guest room, not wanting to impose too much on Delia. Survivor was curled up in his arms as Illusion slept on his stomach. The egg was sitting on a desk across from them, still and as silent as could be, but warm (he had checked before going to bed).

 _My first night here._  Alex thought,  _It feels weird to sleep in a place like this. Reminds me too much of my missions, but what can I do? It's not like I can go back to that h*llhole of a world right now, anyway. But there must be a reason I was brought here, why else would I be here? In the morning I'll ask Delia of what she thinks. I could ask Gary and Tracy, but I want to talk to her first. She and Mimey are being so nice to me, even though I just showed up at their doorstep._  A smile was brought to the blond's face,  _Ash is lucky to have such a mother, or even a mother at all. But now that I think about it..._  the smile dropped,  _Gary only has Professor Oak, doesn't he? He never mentioned any parents either when we talked, so maybe we're more alike than we thought. Wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong about someone, but at least it isn't fatal._

Looking down at his sleeping pokemon made him smile again,  _I should get to sleep. They're not the only ones who have a big week ahead of them, after all._  Allowing his eyes to slip closed, he went to sleep pretty quickly, surprisingly. And this time, with warm bodies surrounding him, nightmares didn't invade his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. All the AR characters have been introduced.
> 
> 2\. Mystery guy is going to be Alex's main enemy.
> 
> 3\. There will be parts in the story where there will be shots on Yasha and the mystery guy, so be prepared for that.
> 
> 4\. Mystery guy also has an unknown pokemon from the beginning before he got the Pawniard and his clothes reflect the mystery pokemon.
> 
> 5\. Alex met Prof. Oak out-of-story. It was a nice meeting and Oak could tell Alex had the potential to bring out Illusion's true power, which is why he entrusted the Zorua to the boy. But he's also heading back to Kanto as we speak to meet Alex in person and get the full story of the new trainer.
> 
> 6\. When Alex starts his journey, such as going after the badges, there's going to be a family dynamic.


	4. Cerberus the Houndour and Viridian Forest

For the next week Alex, Survivor, and Illusion practiced and got stronger together as the egg started to flash. Tracy explained that the flashing meant it was getting close to hatching. The more it flashed, the closer it was. However, it only flashed a few times a day, so it didn't seem to be all that close. But at least, when the week was over, Alex had gotten a handle on being a pokemon trainer. It was also on the last day, the day he would leave, that he finally met Professor Oak.

"Nice to meet you again!" the much older man greeted as he shook Alex's hand, Illusion rubbing against Oak's leg in happiness, "I'm glad I've had a chance to meet you in person! I would have been here sooner, but things came up."

"Cu?" Survivor looked up at Oak, curious.

"Nice to meet you too." Alex nodded, "I was just about to leave, so you got here just in time."

"Well then, I don't want to keep you waiting!" He had been standing in the front doorway, so he stepped aside. Alex walked past him before pausing at the bottom of the steps. He looked back at the elder man.

"Also, don't worry about Illusion. I'll take care of him just as well as you have."

"Zo zoru!"  _(He will!)_  Illusion added as he bounded back over to Alex.

"I'm sure you will, Alex. Good luck!" Prof. Oak, Gary, and Tracy waved goodbye to Alex and his pokemon as they left the lab's grounds. As he had already said goodbye to Delia earlier that day, Alex only needed to start on his journey, which he did.

"Gramps, are you still sure it was such a good idea to let Alex keep Illusion?" Gary questioned as they watched Alex walk out of town.

"I'm positive. After meeting him, I felt like I was talking to a wiser Ash." Oak smiled, "He'll bring out the power of his pokemon somehow, including Illusion's."

* * *

"I knew these places were far between but I didn't realize it would mean  _this_  much walking." Alex sighed after the first day had fallen. They hadn't made it to Viridian yet, so they were now camped out on the side of the road. Survivor started their fire by striking his bone and a rock together to make sparks, which lit up the pile of sticks Illusion had foraged.

"Cu bone bonecu."  _(It's only natural.)_ Survivor assured. Alex shrugged.

"I guess..." The boy had the egg out and placed it near the fire. Since Houndours were part Fire-type, he surmised that keeping it near the flames would be like being near its mother's body. It flashed twice before going back to normal, so Alex thought nothing of it. It had done that before and had been quiet for hours afterword.

"What do you think I should name it?" Illusion and Survivor shrugged; they had no idea. Alex huffed, "A lot of good you two are..." The human leaned backwards to look up at the sky. He had chances to peer up at it from the windows of the Ketchum house, but being right under it all was breath-taking.

"...Back in my world," he began softly, making his pokemon perk up, "to see the stars like this was rare. There was so much light around that you could only see the moon, unless you were really far away, like in a forest or out in the country. That was when you could see the stars. I've only had a chance to see them like this once or twice before. It's just as pretty now as it was then. And yet, this is a different sky, so there are different constellations. A bit disheartening, but at least it's something new to learn." Things became quiet for a time, the pokemon subdued at the words. Alex, comfortable, even in the open space, decided to take out his IPod. Before, during the nights he had spent at the Ketchum house, he had searched his new clothes and found that his IPod, its cord, a specially crafted Mamba Pistol given to him by MI6, its holster, and his wallet were the only things to come with him from his world.

"Bone bone?" Survivor and Illusion, having not seen the IPod before, were curious of it. Alex smiled.

"This is an IPod. It plays music and you can hook these," the blond held up some earbuds, "into it so only you can hear the music. Want to listen?"

"Zoro!" Illusion cheered, nodding. As he was sure they both wanted to hear, Alex didn't plug in the earbuds as he cycled for a song to play. He paused when he found a song he had recently found and become infatuated with, as it so much reflected his secret life. Hitting play, he smiled as the sound drifted out of the tiny speakers and into the night air.

" _And I'd give up forever to touch you, 'cause I know that you feel me somehow. You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be, and I don't want to go home right now..._ "

* * *

It was the next morning, and Alex was already up and about. Delia had given him plenty of food for himself and his pokemon, enough to get him to Pewter or even to Cerulean. After the music last night, he, Survivor, and Illusion had eaten their fill before going to bed and were doing the same now, except instead of sleeping, they were about to set out to Viridian. And, as the boy noticed this morning, the egg was beginning to flash more often. Every few minutes it began to flash three times, the space between each period of flashes decreasing by a few seconds.

"You guys ready to go?" Alex held the egg (which was back in its case) in his arms, just incase it hatched on the way over. Kneeling down, he allowed Survivor and Illusion to ride on his shoulders to make it easier for them.

"Cu/Zo!" they agreed. With a nod, Alex began walking to Viridian once again. He had idea how close he was to the city, so it was a bit of surprise when they saw it the second they crested a hill.

"Wow..." Alex breathed. Descending the slope, he soon came upon a police checkpoint observed by a blue-haired woman. Illusion ducked behind Alex's head in fright, but at least didn't shake or whimper in fear.

"Hello there." she greeted, tipping her hat, "Not often do we see Zoruas or eggs around here. My name is Officer Jenny, head of the police force of Viridian City. Anyway, if you need to come in, I need to check your PokeDex for identification."

"Sure." Alex took the electronic and gave it to her. Putting it into a computer, Alex saw his picture and information about him pop up on the screen. With a hum of approval, Jenny took the PokeDex out and gave it back.

"Interesting data it had. But I advise you to be careful, as there have been reports of Team Rocket around."

"I know, I've fought them before."

"Then you must also know that they were twice defeated before but have made another revival." she gave him a smile, "Just be careful out there, kid, and take care of that egg." Alex gave a smile back.

"Don't worry, I will. Trust me, I've been through worse." Jenny raised an eyebrow, but didn't speak more, watching the blond enter the city. Feeling her gaze and Illusion adjusted back to his shoulder, he supposed that she was either suspicious or worried about him, but thought not much else of it as he headed to the Pokemon Center. The egg was due to hatch soon, he could tell from the increased flashes. Gary and Tracy had advised him to take it to a Pokemon Center if he could, as they had the best equipment possible to help hatch the egg. As it was his first (and possibly only) egg, he wanted to take extra care with it. And as he entered the doors, he paused, his eyebrows raising in surprise. Right across from him was Nurse Joy! Survivor was just as surprised, but Illusion saw nothing wrong, having never met such a woman before.

"Erm, hello again." he said as he went up to her. She smiled reassuringly.

"Hello. I'm guessing you've met one of my sisters or cousins, judging by the look on your face."

"Sisters? Cousins?" Alex blinked, as did Survivor.

"Here, allow Chansey to take the egg and I'll explain."

"Chansey!" Warily, Alex did so, keeping his eyes on the egg as the pink pokemon left.

"Now then, this is a picture from our last reunion." Turning back, Alex was shocked to see a picture of multiple,  _identical_  Joys. Immediately his thoughts went to Julius, which made him shiver.

"Are you cold?" The blond shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. But how is that possible?" Joy giggled lightly.

"I'm not quite sure myself, but this is just all of us from Kanto. I have more sisters, cousins, aunts, and my mother in other regions. We're all related, just like the Jennys." Alex wasn't sure if that made him reassured or what, especially after encountering the Jenny at the gate. Survivor looked just as harried as the human felt while Illusion was intensely confused, "Now let's go back into the baby room. The egg should be hatching right about now." Shaking his head, the younger man followed her into the bowels of the Center until they came across a room with a large window. Alex, looking inside, saw his egg on a padded table with Chansey looking over it, wearing sunglasses. The flashes were now completely together now, almost nonstop, until it all came together in a soft glow.

"Oh! It's hatching!" Alex and his pokemon watched in amazement as the glowing egg transformed into the shape of a small dog before losing the glow. In its place was a black dog with a short tail, orange around the muzzle and belly, a white skull-like helmet, bands, and ridges on the back. It yawned before opening its eyes, which were also black. They landed on Alex immediately, almost as if the baby knew he was there.

"Houn!" it barked happily and tried to get to its feet, but was its legs were too shaky to hold its weight yet.

"Seems it already likes you." Joy mused, opening the door for Alex. Survivor and Illusion hopped off his shoulders, ran across the floor, and jumped up on the table to get a look at their new friend.

"Chans!" Chansey, after taking off its sunglasses, was now holding out the bottom of the egg case, where all the rest of the items for Houndour were.

"Thank you. I nearly forgot about that." He felt a tug at his spy sense, knowing that, in his world, a mistake like that could have killed him. As it was, he took the offered items and put them in his backpack, leaving out the pokeball that had come with the case. He would use it to capture Houndour when it was time, but for now, only held it in his hand.

"Alright then, allow me to check its stats and so on..." Going over to a computer, Joy typed in some commands and a light blinked from the ceiling. A ray of light shone out of a tiny scanner and went over Houndour several times. In seconds it was finished and on the computer screen was everything about the baby pokemon.

"Houn!" Houndour barked again and jumped into Alex's arms. As Illusion was heavier, he wasn't all that unbalanced by the leaping Dark pokemon. As soon as it was in his arms it began sniffing him all over, investigating him. Alex laughed as Houndour brushed ticklish spots.

"Well, it turns out your Houndour is male and is highly curious." Joy explained, "His ability is Flash Fire and moves so far are Ember and Leer."

"What's Flash Fire do?" Alex asked as Houndour calmed down. He had already heard of some abilities from Gary, such as Survivor's Lightning Rod and Illusion's Illusion, but not all of them. He also knew that each pokemon had a hidden ability and sometimes two, but hadn't gone too deep into it.

"It allows the pokemon to absorb any fire-type attack without gaining damage and powers up the hit pokemon's fire-type attacks. Now, would you like to name your Houndour?" Glancing down at the happy Fire- and Dark-type, Alex nodded.

"I think I'll call him Cerberus. What do you guys think?"

"Cu bone/Zo zoru!"  _(It's good!)_  his pokemon said.

"Ho houn ho!"  _(I like it!)_  With a smile, Alex rubbed Cerberus' head.

"Glad you do."

* * *

"Before you leave, I suggest you stop by the PokeMart and grab some repels." Joy advised after Alex had officially caught Cerberus and she had healed his pokemon. All three were out now, Survivor and Illusion on his shoulders again while Cerberus was by his feet.

"Why?"

"Over there is a map of Kanto." Nurse Joy pointed to a wall, which showed the gigantic map, "Besides Pallet Town, Viridian City also leads to Indigo Plateau and Viridian Forest. If you're heading to Pewter, then you'll need to pass through the forest, which is full of bug pokemon. Repels, which you can buy at PokeMarts, keep pokemon from disturbing you for a certain amount of time. There are also trainers in the forest. You can avoid them, but if they see you, then it's obligatory to battle."

"Is there a place where I can buy a map like this?"

"At the PokeMart. You don't have to go far, since PokeMarts have now moved into Pokemon Centers."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy." Alex said his goodbyes to her before walking over to the map. He took note of the icon showing where he was now and was surprised to see how far Lavender Town was.

"Cerberus, Illusion, do you see Lavender Town here?" Alex pointed to the town, "That's where Survivor and I began before going to Pallet. I can't believe it's so far away. We flew to Pallet in, what, 5 minutes?" Survivor shivered at the memory of flying, but nodded.

"Rua.../Dour..." the younger pokemon were in awe.

"But on another note, do you guys want me to get some repels or just go out there and take on whatever is thrown at us?" Survivor shrugged, Illusion nodded, and Cerberus shook his head. Remembering that the Houndour had a Careful nature and knowing that Survivor (despite being the strongest) wouldn't be able to protect them all, Alex decided to go get a few repels. He had also been meaning to go and get potions as well, after hearing about them from Gary and having been given about 2,000 Poke. Now he was killing 3 birds with one stone. He would get potions, repels, and a map at the same time!

* * *

After walking a short bit, they were soon at the entrance to Viridian Forest. Illusion hid behind Alex's head, intimidated by the forest, while Survivor and Cerberus growled. Raising a hand, Alex rubbed Illusion to calm not only the pokemon, but also himself. There was no telling what he would face in here, except from what he had heard. As quite a few bug pokemon were also part Poison-type, he had went to get a few antidotes but instead found a Pokemon Refresh kit, which would work just as well and more. There were also tales of people getting lost because of its natural maze, but with two Dark-types on his side, they should be able to guide him in the dark, right?

"Ready?"

"Cu!/Houn!/Z-zoru..."  _(Yep/Yeah/Y-yeah...)_  said his pokemon. Trying to comfort Illusion a bit more, Alex took the poor pokemon into his arms as they entered the forest. Little light was able to enter, so it was like they were walking through twilight. Suddenly, out of nowhere appeared a small brown, white, and tan bird.

"Pidgey!" it snapped as Cerberus growled, coming in front of Alex to fight. Instinctively, the blond leapt backward and out of the way.

"Ember!" he barked. Cerberus did so, shoot the tiny fireballs at the Pidgey and hitting.

"Pi!" The flying pokemon fought back by going in for a dive.

"Dodge and Ember!" Houndour jumped into the air before attacking the Pidgey's back. The second attack managed to knock the Pidgey out, where Cerberus howled in victory as he leveled up.

"Let's go before it wakes up." Alex warned. Cerberus nodded and followed him deeper into the forest, where they encountered more pokemon and got more experience. But as they travelled, they found precious items and fought trainers together. By the time they had exited the forest, Illusion and Cerberus had leveled up considerably. Pewter, much to their relief, was not far. Night was beginning to fall, so with much excitement, the prospect of sleeping in a warm bed, and running away from a Beedrill-infested forest, the four ran as fast as they could to the city.

* * *

Paul, after contemplating on Ash's words for a few days, had decided to go back through the other regions and make himself stronger, so he could face his rival once again. This time, though, he was a bit kinder to his pokemon. After going back through Sinnoh once more, he had recently come to Kanto for his next journey.

It was when the doors to the Center opened in the evening that he looked up from the newspaper he had been reading to see a blond boy, a Zorua, a Cubone, and a Houndour run in. The boy, who looked to be slightly older than Paul, seemed relieved as he went up to the counter. Curious at the various pokemon the boy had, the purple-haired male tried to overhear some of the conversation.

"Now I get why people and pokemon alike are so afraid of Beedrill..." the boy panted as he returned his pokemon and gave them to Nurse Joy, "But at least we're ready to take on the gym."

"Well, with the pokemon types you have, you might want to be careful. None of them are particularly strong against Rock-types, which is what Gym Leader Forrest uses, especially your Houndour." Nurse Joy cautioned.

"No offense, but Cerberus, my Houndour, managed to take down 3 Beedrill, all at Lv. 10, while he was at Lv. 8. I know it seems like I'm being cocky, but he knows how to take care of himself. I think we'll be fine." Both Paul and Nurse Joy were surprised, Paul covering it up better, but surprised nonetheless.

 _Impressive._  he thought.

"Torterra." Torterra said in agreement, voicing Paul's opinion. He was also out of his pokeball, having been eating when the boy came in. It was at that moment, just before he got his pokeballs back, that the blond looked towards them. Eyes meeting, they observed each other. When he got his pokeballs back, the boy released his pokemon before walking over.

"May I join you?" he asked politely with a slight accent Paul couldn't place.

"Sure." the blond took the side of the booth opposite of Paul and Torterra. Their pokemon met each other, Cerberus sniffing Torterra everywhere as the Cubone held out a hand. The Zorua, however, cowered under the table, away from trainer and pokemon.

"I'm Alex. Who are you?"

"Paul."

"Is it alright if I use my PokeDex?"

"Be my guest. Torterras are from the Sinnoh region, like myself, so you usually don't see them around here."

"Torterra, the Continent Pokemon and the final evolved form of Turtwig." the PokeDex beeped, "Groups of this Pokemon migrating in search of water have been mistaken for 'moving forests,' some Pokemon are born on its back and spend their entire life there, ancient people imagined that beneath the ground, a gigantic Torterra dwelled, and small Pokemon occasionally gather on its unmoving back to begin building their nests."

"Well, I'm also not from around here." Alex said as he put the item away, "As you can tell from trying to overhear us, the Houndour is nicknamed Cerberus. The Cubone is Survivor, my first pokemon, and the Zorua is Illusion." Paul's face didn't move except for the slight widening of the eyes.

"How did you know?" Alex gave a sad smile.

"I've had practice, but you were pretty good. Anyway, why are you in Kanto?"

"Retraining myself. I've been through here before, back when I was younger, but after my last defeat, I've decided to go through all the regions again. So far I've only been through Sinnoh."

"Have you gotten your badge yet?"

"No, and it seems you haven't either. Last time I was here, Brock, the older brother of Forrest, ran the gym, so I don't know how much has changed. But, I can tell you that there will be other Rock-type trainers in there that will challenge you before you can get to Forrest. You have to go through all of them before facing the Gym Leader, and Nurse Joy was right. Cerberus would be your worst choice to bring into battle." Before Paul could say anything else, Illusion had come out from under the table and jumped on top, getting in Paul's face.

"Zoru zorua ruazo, Zoruarua!"  _(Stop right there, Plumhead!)_ Illusion growled, "Ruazozo ru rua zo rua zoruarua zoruazo zo ruzo, ru rua zoruazorua rua!" _(Cerberus is one of the strongest pokemon I know, so don't underestimate him!)_

"Easy, Illusion." Alex gently tugged the Zorua away, "Paul didn't mean that Cerberus is a bad fighter, just that he has a type disadvantage."

"Zo..." the pure Dark-type growled lowly, glaring at the purple-haired man, but conceded by cuddling into Alex's arms.

"Talk about being bipolar..." Paul murmured, wondering at how close he had gotten to getting his face scratched.

"Anyway, I know that, but I really think Cerberus can do it." the blond continued, "As for the gym, since we're both going to be battling Forrest,why don't I watch your battle?"

"If you do, then you won't be able to challenge the gym until the day after, since it takes a day for the Gym Leader's pokemon to rest." A smirk came to Paul's face, "Though I'd like to see how well you do, too, so I guess I could stay behind and watch."

"I don't mind, but I'd rather wait until after your battle so I know how it goes. I haven't been in a gym battle before, so I don't exactly know all the rules."

"Rookie, huh? Well, the rules change depending on the gym. In this case, you can only use two pokemon, no more or less. I'm using Torterra and Weavile, another of my pokemon. Who are you going to use?"

"Illusion and Survivor." Alex said immediately, "Survivor, I guess you could say, is my secret weapon." Paul quirked an eyebrow.

"Interesting. But I was thinking of going somewhere else after the Pewter Gym instead of Cerulean. There's an ancient nation called Rota past Mt. Moon and they're going to be holding their annual battle tournament, so I thought I'd go check it out."

"Well, since you're tagging along with me, why don't I tag along with you?" the other asked, "They might help me with something I've been searching for."

"Maybe." Paul was surprised when Alex held out a hand.

"May the best trainer win." said the blond, "And good luck to all of our battles from here on out, whether they be against one another or someone else." Feeling faintly like he was facing Ash once more, Paul hesitantly took Alex's hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Level calculating is hard. TRUST ME.
> 
> 2\. Alex now has over half of his main and only team (Survivor, Illusion, Cerberus, and the mystery pokemon).
> 
> 3\. The mamba pistol is a headcanon of mine, as I think he deserves a gun after all that he's been through, and here's the description: "In his jacket, he had a gun holster, holding a Mamba pistol that MI6 specifically got for him in case of emergencies. They even gave him a special gun license that allowed him to carry it, though most people never knew about it. It was a bit unusual for a gun; it had a 15-round magazine with a single position feed, it could stay in a 'cocked and locked' state with the safety on, it had a machined hole near the front of the barrel instead of a bushing to help its accuracy, the barrel itself had a 12-groove 'button rifling' (which is said to increase muzzle velocity)... The only problem was that they were rumored to have poor workmanship. However, since this one was custom-made for Alex alone, he didn't have to worry. MI6 would have made sure it was the best quality he could get."
> 
> 4\. The song above is Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. It's only going to be one of many songs that make an appearance in the story.


	5. Friendship With Paul: Is It Overrated?

"How powerful are you if you managed to travel through most of the regions?" Alex asked after the handshake, "Why haven't you taken on Unova, Kalos, or Alola?"

"I see no reason to." Paul answered, "I might after I retrain myself, but Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh are familiar to me. Sinnoh is my home region, and I've been through Kanto twice already..."

"You have?" Paul nodded.

"It was with Reggie, my older brother. He was challenging the Battle Frontier and I tagged along." The other closed his eyes, as if in thought, "His last battle was the main reason why I wanted to focus on strength. I could have gone any battling path as a pokemon trainer, but I decided to focus on my pokemon's strength more than anything else. I wanted to prove I was better than Reggie, that I wouldn't give up after losing a battle." Paul opened his eyes, glaring, "Why am I even telling you this? It's not you would care..."

"Maybe not, but strength isn't the only thing you need to focus on. So what if your brother gave up? That doesn't mean you have to devote all your energy into strength training. Getting closer to your pokemon also helps make them stronger." A smirk crossed onto the purple-haired male's face.

"With the way you talk, you remind me of Ash. He was the first person who actually beat me, even though he lost most of the time. He was really persistent, and I think I admire him for that." Alex's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Ash? I met another of his rivals back in Pallet. His name was Gary, and it looked like they've been rivals since childhood. Maybe you two could talk sometime about your battles against Ash."

"...Maybe." Paul's gaze travelled over Alex's pokemon, "And why do you have 2 Dark-types? Why a Cubone as your starter instead of the usual ones?" Alex was quiet.

"...Chance and hope. Survivor's mother was killed, so I took him in. Illusion came to me because he wanted help getting over his timidness, and Cerberus was just born from an egg I was given. We might be an odd group, but we take care of each other." the blond tried to crack a smile, but it was too fake to be real, "Bet your beginning wasn't as hectic as mine."

"..." Paul was silent. Alex stood.

"I'm going to bed. See you at 7." his pokemon followed him as they went to their rented room, each only looking back once.

"...Tor tor terra?" _(Are you okay?)_  Torterra asked quietly once Alex and his pokemon were gone.

"Alex is hiding something." Paul didn't move, "I want to know what it is, but I can't outright ask. It'd be rude. And yet, do I  _really_  want to know?"

"Terra to ra."  _(Leave it be.)_ the Continent pokemon sighed, getting to his feet, "Tera terra torterra tor tor rara."  _(Alex will explain when it's time.)_

"You're right. But who would kill a pokemon's mother? That's..." Paul stopped himself as memories came to the surface. Memories of how he treated his pokemon before. Torterra, sensing what he was remembering, moved his head under his trainer's hand.

"Tor terra. Ter torterra terra torter." _(It's okay. You weren't that cruel.)_ The plumhead rubbed his pokemon's head.

"I was certainly cruel to Chimchar, though."

"To to tor."  _(Go to bed.)_

"...Fine. That doesn't mean I can't stop thinking, though." Torterra sighed, but said no more to his trainer. When Paul got like this, it was hard to get him out of it. Being influenced by Ash did that to you, the pokemon guessed.

* * *

When it was morning, Paul assumed Alex would be in the cafeteria, getting breakfast. However, as he passed the practice gym on his way, he paused. Looking inside at hearing some noise, he saw Alex practicing on a punching bag that was usually used for helping pokemon. Survivor, Cerberus, and Illusion were watching from a bench on the side, just as curious as Paul was. The boy was only in his pajamas, a pair Delia had sewn for him.

"Hey, Rookie." Alex paused at Paul's voice.

"What do you want?"

"What are you doing?"

"Practicing. What does it look like?"

"Why?" Alex gave him a glance.

"...Assuming this world practices martial arts, I'm keeping myself in shape for that."

"I see." Paul entered the room, taking a seat beside the pokemon, "I never thought you knew something like that."

"I've been taking classes since I was about 5 or so. I've been a black belt for over a year now."

"...How old are you, anyway?"

"15. You?"

"16."

"You act older than your age."

"You have to if you want to be strong. How strong are you?"

"In what sense?"

"Physically."

"I could throw you over my shoulder or trip you with little effort. If I can, though, I prefer not to fight."

"Then why do you want to challenge the gym?"

"...I can't be the only strong one. If something happens, I want Survivor and the others to be strong in case they need to protect themselves." The pokemon were touched by their partner's words.

"Bobo..."  _(Alex...)_  Survivor muttered quietly, so the blond wouldn't hear.

"That sounds similar to what I do."

"But it isn't. You want power for yourself, I only want it for my pokemon."

"Mmm..." Paul and the pokemon sat in silence as Alex continued to practice. It was a few minutes later that he was finished, sweating and huffing. He sat beside his pokemon, on the other side where there was no Paul, and his hand came up to touch his chest.

"Something wrong?"

"No." Alex shook his head, "Just an old scar aggravating things."

"Dour?"  _(Scar?)_

"It's nothing to worry about." the blond rubbed the heads of his worried pokemon, "Now, let me go get a shower and we can get some breakfast. Am I still going to watch your battles?" Paul blinked.

"I didn't expect you to ask, but it's still on."

"Good. I don't like going in somewhere without knowing things first. It's like going in blind." a certain light came to Alex's eyes, "I don't like being blind or deaf." Not sure if it would be a good time to ask, the purple-haired teen kept silent. The light went away when Illusion tugged on the boy's hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Zorua, zo rua ru zor!"  _(C'mon, I want to eat!)_ whined the Zorua, wanting to keep things happy. Alex laughed, but did as he was told. Cerberus and Survivor immediately followed, almost like little Growlithes. Paul was left behind, but he didn't mind. He had felt strange when Alex had said those words, which he thought might have been fear. It had been a long time since he felt fear, which was something he didn't like. But why had he been so fearful of Alex's words? Was it the secret meaning behind them that scared him? He didn't know, but he wanted to find out, somehow.

* * *

"So," Alex looked up, "this is the Pewter City Gym, huh?"

"Yeah. It's been a while." With all of their pokemon in their pokeballs, the two men were standing outside the gym.

"...Is it natural to feel this nervous?"

"Only when it's your first time. It gets easier the more you do it, but you're always still a little nervous."

"Are you?"

"No. I could wipe the floor with them easily." Paul walked forward, "Now come on. We need to challenge Forrest before someone else does." Alex followed and couldn't help but gasp at the rocky, cave-like inside. In front of them was a pathway crowded between two rock walls. Paul smirked.

"I wonder how you'll do when you have to fight, Rookie." he pulled out a pokeball, "Now come on. I have 3 trainers to get past before I can fight the Gym Leader." Slightly embarrassed, Alex kept silent and followed. Quickly they came across the first trainer, a camper named Liam, where Paul brought out his Weavile against the boy's Geodude. Alex kept to the side and watched, a little surprised when his pokemon also came out to watch, but said nothing of it. Weavile quickly took out both the Geodude and Liam's next pokemon, a Sandshrew. Alex scanned both with his PokeDex, just in case he would face them later, which he probably would.

"Geodude, the Rock Pokemon. It is one of the few pokemon who have a regional variant, as usually it is a Rock-/Ground-type, but in Alola, it is a Rock-/Electric-type. When it sleeps deeply, it buries itself halfway into the ground. It will not awaken even if hikers step on it unwittingly. In the morning, this Pokémon rolls downhill in search of food. The longer it lives, the more its edges are chipped and worn away, making it more rounded in appearance. However, this Pokémon's heart will remain hard, craggy, and rough always. It is nearly impossible to distinguish from rocks. It slams against others in contests of hardness.

"Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokemon. It is one of the few pokemon who have a regional variant, as usually it is a Ground-type, but in Alola, it is a Ice-/Steel-type. It has a very dry hide that is extremely tough. The Pokémon can roll into a ball that repels any attack. At night, it burrows into the desert to sleep. It's body is configured to absorb water without waste, despite how much it dislikes the liquid, enabling it to survive in an arid desert. The Pokémon curls up to protect itself from its enemies."

 _It's a Ground-type, like Survivor._  Alex thought as the battle finished out,  _And yet it's completely different. I still have a lot to learn, don't I?_  He glanced at his pokemon,  _I've never scanned them, have I? I wonder what the PokeDex says about them. As it is, I'll do it after Paul's battles._

"Darn it!" growled Liam as he returned his pokemon. With a sigh, he stepped aside, "You guys can pass." With a slight smile, Paul returned his pokemon before he and Alex continued on.

"Weavile looked good, but why are you using her when she has no type advantage?"

"It helps to make her stronger." The elder once again had a blank face, "I used to do it a lot before I met Ash. Now I don't do it unless I know my pokemon can win. I don't force them anymore."

"Hmm..." Quickly they came across another camper, this one named Jerry. As he and Paul threw out their pokemon, Alex fell back and pulled out his PokeDex.

"Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokemon. It's brain is very small, so dense that while on a run it forgets why it started running in the first place. It apparently remembers sometimes if it demolishes something. It runs in a straight line, smashing everything in its path. It is not bothered even if it rushes headlong into a block of steel. The Pokémon may feel some pain from the collision the next day, however. It is inept at turning because of its four short legs. It can only charge and run in one direction."

"Sounds like a one-horned armored bull." Alex murmured to himself as he watched Weavile defeat Rhyhorn. Like Liam, Jerry stepped aside and allowed them to pass. So far, it seemed Paul was right in saying he would be able to defeat the gym easily. They were soon facing off against the last trainer before Forrest, a hiker named Edwin. As he also sent out a Geodude, Alex decided to scan Weavile for a change.

"Weavile, the Sharp Claw Pokemon and evolved form of Sneasel. They travel in groups of four or five, leaving signs for one another on trees and rocks. They bring down their prey with coordinated attacks. They dwell in cold places. The Pokémon's main food source in Alola are Vulpix and Sandshrew, which they carefully divide among their group."

 _I wonder how they manage to eat Sandshrew, then, if the Mouse pokemon is an Ice- & Steel-type in Alola._ He was taken out of his thoughts as Edwin, who had just been defeated, spoke.

"Well then, good luck defeating Forrest!" With a nod, Paul walked past him as Alex and his pokemon again followed. They came out of the rugged pathway out onto the other side of a rocky field. Across from them, Forrest was waiting.

"Welcome, challengers!" he called out, sounding as if he was still getting used to the words, "Welcome to the Pewter Gym! Which of you will be challenging me today?"

"I will." Paul stepped up. Looking back, Alex saw a bench he could sit on, which was where he went so he could stay out of the battle, "My name is Paul." A referee stepped up from the sides, each hand holding a red and a green flag.

"Alright then, here are the rules of the gym! Each trainer with use 2 pokemon and whoever has the most pokemon left standing wins! LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" the man then threw up his arms, waving the flags,

"Go, Graveler!"

"Weavile, Standby for battle!"

"Graveler, the Rock Pokemon and evolved form of Geodude. Like its pre-evolved form, it has an Alolan regional variant. Usually, it is a Rock-/Ground-type, but in Alola, it is a Rock-/Electric-type." beeped Alex's PokeDex, "Rocks are its favorite food, especially mossy ones. The Pokémon will climb a mountain from the base to the summit, crunchingly feasting on rocks all the while. Upon reaching the peak, it rolls back down to the bottom, not caring if pieces are chipped off or what is in its way."

"Weavile, Swords Dance!" The Dark- & Ice-type began dancing around the field, sharpening its claws.

"Graveler, use Rock Polish!" The round pokemon began using its four arms to rub dirt on itself, allowing its speed to increase drastically, but it was still behind Weavile's speed.

"Swords Dance again!"

"Stop it with Rock Throw!"

"Dodge!" Weavile swiftly dodged all five rocks thrown at her, "Ice Beam!"

"Wea!" The Ice Beam froze Graveler's feet and two of its arms to the ground, making it unable to move and damaging it at the same time. As it was weak to ice-type moves, the hit was super effective, but hadn't knocked the pokemon completely out. It seemed to share a look with Forrest, who nodded.

"Graveler, Self-Destruct!" The Graveler glowed a dim yellow before a lot of power was forced out of its body, causing an explosion. Having not expected this, Alex and his pokemon hadn't covered their ears in time and had gotten the full blast of sound from the attack while Weavile got the full power. Memories began popping up in Alex's mind, of McCain's death, Dr. Grief's death, Jack's death... He barely even heard the referee's call of a double knockout or his pokemon's tug on his clothes. It was only the (literally) earthshaking appearance of Torterra and Rhyperior that snapped him out of it.

"Bobo/Houn/Zoru?" _(Alex?)_  his pokemon questioned him in fright, having seen fear and a faraway look enter the blond's eyes. With shaky hands, he rubbed their heads.

"I'm fine for now." he said softly, his voice shaking a little, "Just...give me a little time, okay?" They weren't convinced and didn't take their eyes off of him, even as he brought out his PokeDex again to check Rhyperior.

"Rhyperior, the Drill Pokemon and the final evolved form of Rhyhorn. It puts rocks in holes in its palms and uses its muscles to shoot them, rarely shooting Geodude. Its carapace can withstand volcanic eruptions."

"Torterra, Giga Drain!" Torterra stomped the ground, sending out a wave of green energy.

"Dodge and use Megahorn!" Rhyperior jumped, avoiding the wave, and charged as his horn glowed and increased in size.

"Frenzy Plant!" Covered in green energy, the Continent pokemon used its vines to stop and beat Rhyperior. But, much to Paul's surprise, the Drill pokemon didn't look as damaged as he should.

"Rhyperior has Solid Rock as his ability, so any supereffective move you use is cut by 1/4th." Forrest explained, then commanded, "Now, Dig then Megahorn!" The Rock-/Ground-type dug into the ground before coming up and hitting Torterra's belly. Because of the force behind the blow, it caused Torterra to rear up.

"Terra!" it cried in pain.

"Use Crunch and don't let it get away!" Because Paul's Torterra was used to using Frenzy Plant, it could also restore energy quickly, allowing it to bite Rhyperior's horn before the pokemon could escape, "Throw it into the air and use Giga Drain!"

"Free yourself with Rock Wrecker!" However, before Rhyperior could fire, Torterra had it up in the air. His tree glowed and shot a light green beam at Rhyperior, draining it of energy and defeating it.

"Rhyperior is unable to battle, so the winners are Paul and Torterra!"

"Good job." the purple-haired male whispered to the Grass-/Ground-type's pokeball as he returned him.

"Usually Rhyperior and Graveler aren't used in battle," Forrest explained as he walked across the field, "but from what the other trainers told me of your Weavile, I thought you might want more of a challenge. As it is, congrats on earning the Boulder Badge!" He held out the rock-like badge, where Paul quietly took it.

"Thank you. It was a great battle. And I guess I might see you tomorrow, since my companion also wants to challenge the gym."

"Really now?" Forrest raised an eyebrow, "Is he strong, like you?"

"No, just a beginner, so go easy on him."

"We'll see. Good luck on your journey, though."

"...You too." Forrest smiled at the response.

"Now that you've defeated me, you can go right back down the path you came without fear of having to be battled." the younger, darker-skinned male glanced to Alex, "And are you sure he's up to it? He looks a little...pale, I guess." Paul followed his gaze and frowned.

"I don't know. I've only known him a day, though, so it might just be nothing. Goodbye." With a nod to the Gym Leader, Paul went over to the blond, who stood, if a bit slow.

"You okay?" Alex nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Unsure, Paul kept close by, as did the blond's pokemon, as they left the building. As soon as they were out the doors, Alex fell to his knees. He was breathing heavily, tears coming to his eyes as the human and the pokemon surrounded him.

"Hey!" Paul crouched beside him, "What's wrong? Are you hurting?"

"Only...only emotionally." Alex gasped, "The explosion...Self-Destruct, wasn't it? It brought up...bad memories. Very bad memories. Just give me a little time, so I can compose myself. I just need a little rest is all, then I can battle Forrest tomorrow."

"Do dour!"  _(No way!)_ Cerberus shook his head, "Houn houn dour doho dour!"  _(You need more than rest!)_  Alex brought up a shaky hand to rest on the young pokemon's head.

"There's no need to worry. This isn't the first time it's happened."

" _No need to worry!"_  the words of Dawn, the troublesome girl, echoed in Paul's mind. He remembered that every time she said those words, bad things were bound to happen. And with what's happened to Alex so far, he didn't doubt that the blond didn't have the same luck.

"Here."

"Wha-?" Alex was taken into Paul's arms, a blush crossing his face. Glaring at Paul, Alex saw the other teen snort.

"Don't think I'll do this for you all the time. Until we get to the Center, I'm carry you. No argument." The blond was silent as the plumhead began to walk, Survivor, Illusion, and Cerberus following behind.

 _Reggie would be proud of me if he could see this._  And for some reason, that brought a spark of happiness to Paul's stone heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Alex's past is going to show up again and again to haunt him through the story, and this is just the start of those troubles.
> 
> 2\. Paul may seem cold, but he actually does care sometimes. He cares for Torterra, doesn't he? That means he isn't completely heartless.
> 
> 3\. The PokeDex entries that are going to appear here are going to be mixtures of ones from the various generations so all the info is out there. The pokemon are also going to be able to learn moves that they could from various generations.
> 
> 4\. Rhyperior is one of Forrest's pokemon as shown in an episode, but you won't know unless you go looking. Some of Brock's pokemon also stay with Forrest to help the boy and his pokemon get stronger. Brock's pokemon also get stronger from the training as well, such as when his Onix evolved into Steelix.


	6. This Is My Fight Alone (And I Can't Let You Help)

Before they went inside the Pokemon Center, Paul finally put Alex back on his own two feet, where they walked in together, the blond more steady than earlier. With a nod to the elder male, he and his pokemon left for their room. Paul stared after them for a few moments, then turned to Nurse Joy.

"Nurse Joy, do you know of a certain condition that's triggered by memories?" She paused in her typing.

"Well, there are several conditions like that. Why do you ask?"

"Just wanted to know. What about a condition triggered by bad memories?"

"Again, there are several, but the most common associated with that kind of description would be PTSD." Paul blinked.

"PTSD?"

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." she pulled up a Bulbapedia page to show him, "Usually it's caused by a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, rape, or other threats to the person's life. It can affect the person both mentally and physically, including causing depression and even suicide. Every person is affected differently by what they've experienced, and certain things can trigger those memories, such as loud explosions can remind someone of when they were at war and such."

"Thank you for a info, Nurse Joy. And could you please heal my pokemon?" This time she smiled.

"Of course. And Paul?" He paused at her words, having been about to turn away, "Keep an eye on Alex because of those risks. Don't think I didn't see you carrying him before you came inside or his haunted look." He gave her a surprised look but said nothing as he went after Alex.

* * *

Yasha breathed a sigh of relief as he and Ore finally entered Littleroot. Now he could get a pokeball and not have to carry the heavy Steel-/Rock-type around anymore.

"Aron!" said the pokemon, affronted.

"Did I say that aloud? Sorry, friend." Yasha rubbed Ore's shiny white head, "And while we are here, maybe something good will happen. Those battles were quite tough, were they not?"

"Ron." Ore nodded, relishing in the petting.

* * *

Jenny looked up from slouching in her booth, hearing a beep from her computer. On it was a wanted poster, which was being circulated all the way from Unova. She couldn't believe her eyes as she saw a warrant of Alex and a Pawniard appear on the screen, accusing them of having robbed Prof. Juniper's lab. The picture shown was from a security camera, showing the blond grabbing pokeballs as Pawniard destroyed the lab.

"No way..." she searched for the date that it had happened. The date, a day ago, was when Alex had come through, also at the same time. There was no way Alex could have done it, and yet... Jenny began to type a message to the rest of the police force throughout the regions, saying that there was another boy who looked very similar, but was not the criminal and had a Cubone, Houndour, and Zorua with him. She hoped that would protect Alex, as she was certain it couldn't have been him who had robbed the lab. As it was, she began reading the warrant for more details.

* * *

"Alex?"

"Tor?" Paul gently knocked on Alex's door with the back of his hand. Torterra was with him, hoping to help. They were surprised when the door opened, even more surprised when they found Survivor standing on Cerberus' back, having opened the door.

"Bone cu." Survivor beckoned them in, his voice quiet. Sharing a glance with his starter, who nudged him forward, Paul entered silently. He thought he couldn't get more surprised, but he was wrong when he saw Alex asleep in bed. He may have been asleep, but there were tear streaks on his face as more tears appeared. Almost on instinct, the plumhead reached a hand down to wipe the tears away. Alex flinched away at the touch, whimpering, and though he was usually emotionless, even such a sound from such a boy hurt Paul.

"It's okay." he whispered, letting his hand rest on the blond's head, "Nothing's wrong, it's okay." As he did this, faint memories of Reggie calming him after nightmares bubbled up. It was as if the cycle was repeating again, but between two people who were almost strangers. Alex reaction to the soothing words and motions was to stop whimpering, and the tightness in his face eased as tears ceased. He was calming down at last. The pokemon sighed quietly in relief, having been so worried over their master and partner. But when Paul tried to move his hand away, the blond's hand shot out to grab his wrist. It was like a gentle vice, not hurting him but not letting him go, either. Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to escape any time soon, Paul returned Torterra and sat on the ground, shifting to make himself comfortable.

As Cerberus closed the door, the purple-haired male knew that this was also no time to ask why this was happening or what was going on. He may not have had PTSD, but he knew what it was like to be in the grips of nightmares more than once. He had had so many when he and Reggie were first left alone... Shaking his head, Paul knew that he couldn't let Alex feel alone and scared. Even now, as a trainer, he still had the nightmares, but not as often as before.

But his main question was: What had scarred Alex so badly?

* * *

Alex's eyes slowly flickered open as the sun began shining in. That was one of his best sleeps in a long time, especially considering what had happened the day before. There was Illusion, sleeping on the dresser, Survivor was in his arms, Cerberus was by his feet- His eyes flashed open as he realized who else was in his room. The blond's eyes traced down his arm, all the way down to where his hand still gripped Paul's wrist, and other teen having finally fallen asleep barely an hour ago. Not wanting to wake Paul, Alex gently eased his arm to the floor before letting go of the plumhead's wrist, which thankfully did not wake him. He then set about quietly and quickly getting ready for the day. Not once did Paul, who was a usually light sleeper, wake while Alex moved around, possibly because the blond was being extremely quiet or because the plumhead was so tired.

* * *

Several hours later, Paul was finally nudged awake by Weavile. Torterra would have done it earlier, the second Alex and his pokemon were gone, but the Continent pokemon couldn't fit in the room, so he had argued with Weavile to make the Dark-/Ice-type wake their master.

"What is it?" Paul growled, slowly opening his eyes. It was a few seconds before he remembered, where he then looked around.

"What the h*ll?! How long have I been out?!" The pokemon held up all of her claws, showing 6 hours. Alex had gotten up at 6, so Paul had slept half the day away. Instantly he was on his feet, heading for his room. Spotting a paper that had fallen off of Paul by the motion, Weavile picked it up. Quickly noting the hand-written style, she chased after Paul.

"Vile!" The plumhead paused at the call.

"What?"

"Vile!" Weavile caught up to her stopped trainer and waved the paper. He snatched it from her claws and began to read.

" _I don't know how you got into my room, but don't say a word. And thank you for helping me last night. I'm going to fight Forrest then leave town. Hope I see you at Rota."_ There was no signature, but Paul knew who had written the note. He crushed it in his fist, gritting his teeth, then sighed. The paper slipped between his loosened fingers, where Weavile picked it up again.

"Wea?" She walked with him as they went back to his room.

"We've got a lot of catching up to do." were his only words.

* * *

_**Hours Ago:** _

"..." Alex once again looked up at the gym, Survivor and Illusion on his shoulders with Cerberus in his pokeball, as he wouldn't be needed. The blond hadn't asked his pokemon what had happened last night, but he had the feeling they were the ones that let Paul into his room. But he couldn't let someone get through his walls, but unless they wanted to get shocked. And no matter how stoic the plumheaded male was, Alex's past would certainly be heart-stopping.

"...C'mon." the blond walked forward, entering the gym, "Remember, Illusion, Survivor, I'm using you two. We stocked up too, before this, so I can heal you guys if needed." A smile came to his face, "Let's win so we can start filling our badge case."

"Bone/Zorua!" they barked, nodding. Illusion jumped down from the boy's shoulder as Liam appeared, again in the same place as last time.

"Aren't you the kid who was with that trainer yesterday?" Not pausing for an answer, Liam continued, "Doesn't matter, you'll still need to go through me and the other trainers before you can fight Forrest!" His first pokemon was a Geodude, like last time.

"Rock Polish!" Alex narrowed his eyes.

"Leer!" The blond saw Liam's lips twitch, signaling that this was probably a good thing. Geodude flinched under the glare, but its speed had still been raised, though not enough to be faster than Illusion.

"Rollout!"

"Dodge and use Leer again!"

"Zo!" Illusion charged at the rolling Geodude before jumping over it and glaring.

"Leer once more!"

"Rollout again!" Without needing to be commanded, Illusion dodged in the same manner before glaring.

"Pursuit!"

"Dodge and Rock Polish!" Cloaked in darkness, Illusion had jumped at the Geodude, managing to hit it before it got away. Affected by the two Leers, it was significantly damaged. However, Geodude was now faster than Illusion, so Alex knew he would have to be careful.

"Illusion, Pursuit!"

"Rollout!" The attacks hit head-on, but the one left standing at the end was Illusion. Panting, the Zorua prepared to fight Sandshrew.

"Shake 'em up, Sandshrew!" Liam threw out the Ground-type, "Defense Curl!" Alex frowned. His Leer tactic wouldn't work here, so it would be no use in trying to use it. However, he smirked as he got an idea

"Fake Tears!" Illusion, as Paul had mentioned two days ago, went bipolar. He sat back on his haunches as tears welled up in his eyes, much different from how he had acted before. And when he cried, he cried loud enough to make his opponents cover their ears as Sandshrew's Spf. Defense sharply decreased.

"Leer!" Instantly Illusion switched back to glaring.

"Defense-!"

"Fake Tears!" Before Liam could finish, Illusion was crying again, drowning out the rest of his command. It went on like this two more times before Liam decided to do something about it.

"Fury Cutter!" Remembering that Fury Cutter was a Bug-type move and that those were supereffective against Dark-types, Alex knew he had to end this quickly.

"Dodge then Pursuit!" However, because Illusion was sitting, he was unable to dodge in time, taking out a good piece of HP. But he did attack, hurting Sandshrew, though not as much as it hurt the Zorua.

 _A few more hits should do it,_ Alex thought as he surveyed the battle,  _But I can't risk Illusion getting hit, not even by a move that wouldn't do much damage. And I don't want to bring out Survivor, not just yet._

"Pursuit!"

"Fury Cutter!"

"Fake Tears while using Pursuit!" Alex's combination worked, as the crying stopped Sandshrew in its tracks, allowing Illusion to hit it.

"Pursuit once more!"

"Dodge it!" Barely Sandshrew managed to do so. By the way both pokemon were panting, it looked like only one more move was needed to defeat them.

"Pursuit/Fury Cutter!"

"Zo/Shrew!" Sandshrew struck first, but Illusion slid under the attack, hitting Sandshrew in the chest and ending the battle. As Alex picked up and healed Illusion, Liam returned Sandshrew and gave a low whistle.

"I don't think I've ever seen a Zorua fight so hard!" he commented, "You've both got some spunk. I hope you can make your way to Forrest!" Tipping his cap to them, he stepped aside. The blond and his pokemon shared a look as Illusion once again joined Survivor on the human's shoulder. Nodding to say he was ready to go on, Alex nodded back to Illusion and they continued.

* * *

After defeating Jerry and Edwin (who were a little easier than Liam), the three found themselves at the battlefield once again. Both of the pokemon hopped down as Forrest appeared.

"Welcome, challenger! I see you've come, just as your friend said you would! Are you ready to fight me?"

"I am! My name is Alex and I'm ready to defeat you!" the blond shouted across the field.

"Alright then." the referee appeared once again with his flags, "Allow me to state the rules again. Only 2 pokemon are allowed on each side. Whoever has both of their pokemon knocked out first loses. If you both understand, then let the battle BEGIN!"

"Go, Geodude/Illusion!"

"Zo/Dude!" Illusion's tail quivered as he growled at the Rock-/Ground-type.

"Defense-"

 _Not this time._  "Fake Tears!" Once again Illusion's tears stopped the attack before it even began, "Leer!" Geodude flinched at the glare, "Fake Tears!" Forrest quickly began to see Alex's strategy and decided to stop it.

"Stop it with Tackle!" This time, Illusion was the one interrupted as he was hit, but he stood his ground by latching onto the Rock pokemon.

"Shake it off!"

"Hang on and use Pursuit!" Illusion hung on as he bit Geodude, injuring it, "Keep using Pursuit!" Slowly, chunk by chunk of HP was taken and soon enough, Geodude fainted.

"Geodude is unable to battle, so Zorua wins the round!" Alex healed Illusion as Forrest returned Geodude.

"Liam, Jerry, and Edwin were right when they said your Zorua was tough, Alex. But I don't think it can take down Onix!" Both pokemon hid behind their partner as the giant pokemon was released. A little intimidated himself, Alex brought out his PokeDex.

"Onix, the Rock Snake Pokemon." it beeped, "Onix has a magnet in its brain. It acts as a compass so that this Pokémon does not lose direction while it is tunneling, where it can go up to 50 mph and can be heard from a long distance. These tunnels are homes for Diglett and Dugtrio when not in use. As it grows older, its body, which can become as hard as diamond as it grows, becomes increasingly rounder and smoother. It gets its food from eating massive amounts of solid and rock, leaving behind the tunnels." Alex blinked as he saw its stats.

 _There's no way Illusion can defeat this thing! Its defense is way too high!_  "Survivor-" Much to his surprise, a shaking Illusion stepped forward.

"R-rua zo zo zorua rua. Ru zoru zo rua zozo ru zoru zoruazo, zorua?"  _(L-let me at least try. I need to get over my fear sometime, right?)_ Illusion looked back at the blond, still shaking, but with a bright light in his eyes. Realizing that it was courage, Alex nodded.

"Cu?"

"Do it, Illusion." Alex nodded with a smile, "Let's take this thing down!"

"Rua!" Illusion bounded back onto the field, ready to right.

"Cubone bo cubone-?!"  _(You're not actually-?!)_

"Don't worry, I'll pull him out if things get bad. But for now, we wait." Survivor was quiet, crossing his arms.

"Onix, Tackle!"

"Dodge!" Because the larger pokemon was slightly faster, Illusion was unable to dodge in time and got a nasty critical hit, "Fake-!"

"Bind!" Before Alex could finish, Illusion was caught by Onix's tail and being crushed.

"Zoruuuu!" he cried out in pain. Again memories were brought to Alex's mind, but this time it was only a single one and not as bad as the others. Shaking it off, he tried to find a way to save his pokemon. The angle Illusion was being held at prevented him from being returned and the blond doubted that Fake Tears would work this time.

"When a pokemon uses Bind, It's almost impossible to get out of." Forrest explained, then commanded, "Keep squeezing, Onix!"

"Rua!" Alex didn't like feeling helpless and Illusion's pained call made that all the more apparent, so he did the only thing he could: he called out to the Zorua.

"Hang in there! I know you're scared, but don't worry! As soon as you're free, Survivor can take over!"

"Z-zo!"  _(N-no!)_  Illusion opened his eyes, which were full of tears but glowing, "Zo rua Zo zorua ru ruazozo zo ruazo, rua Zo ZORUA ZO!"  _(I said I needed to overcome my fears, and I MEANT IT!)_  Illusion's eyes were now glowing a bright, baby blue before the sprinklers suddenly came on. Onix, who absolutely hated water, let go of Illusion and thrashed about. But both humans noticed the water wasn't actually  _hitting_  Onix.

"Onix, calm down! It isn't real water!"

 _Illusion's using his illusions at last._ Alex smiled, "Return, Illusion!" Now that the Zorua was free, the blond easily returned him, the red light flashing out of the pokeball and catching the pure Dark-type in its embrace. Sharing a nod, Alex allowed Survivor to go forward. And as soon as Illusion had been returned, the illusion stopped, so Onix wasn't panicking anymore, but had damaged itself a little from thrashing about.

"Rock Tomb!"

"Dodge and climb the rocks!" Unknown to Alex, he was using a move similar to what Ash and Froakie had done in Kalos, where Survivor leapt from rock to rock, "Now jump and grab onto its head!"

"Dodge and use Bind!" However, because there were so many rocks, Onix was restricted to a small space, so he couldn't move away in time and now had Survivor on its head.

"Bone Club!" If Forrest's eyes were open, they would have widened greatly.

"Throw it off quickly!" Survivor managed to hold tight to Onix's head and bashed it, greatly hurting Onix. Though still a little shaky on how pokemon type combinations and moves worked, Alex thought that, though Onix was part Ground-type, it had to be weak against ground-type moves. And luckily for him, he was right. The hit knocked Onix out, ending the battle. The pokemon's rocks that made up the body lost their hold with one another when it fainted, so now the field looked like it was just populated with boulders. All of it disappeared, though, as Forrest returned Onix.

"I know I haven't been a Gym Leader for long, but that was the best battle I've ever had!" Forrest was smiling widely, "You may be just a beginning trainer, but you have a lot of potential. Even I can see that." Out of his pocket he pulled out the Boulder Badge, "Here. You certainly deserve it." Alex smiled and took it.

"Thank you." Taking his badge case out of his backpack, Alex pressed the badge into one of the spaces. His badge case was also different than most, as the felt bottom could flip up to reveal more spaces, making it act more like an album than a simple case.

"By the way, where's your friend? Didn't he want to come?" Alex looked away as he put the badge case back.

"We only happened to both want to challenge the gym. We don't travel together, the only reason I came with him yesterday was to see what it was like to battle in a gym, it being my first time. We might meet again, but it's doubtful." he looked Forrest in the eyes, "I hope you continue to have a successful gym, because that was also the best battle we've ever had." Giving a small wave, Alex left, Survivor hanging off of his shoulder.

"Mmm..." Forrest looked after him, "Strange guy..."

* * *

_ **Present:** _

As they made their way to Mt. Moon, Illusion pranced about, practicing his illusions, which was terrible for Cerberus. The poor Houndour had no idea what was real or fake until it was too late, where he then felt greatly embarrassed.

"Illusion, stop." Alex finally sighed when Cerberus smacked into a tree, howling in pain and damaged pride, "You've embarrassed him enough." Illusion stuck his tongue out childishly. After fighting Onix, Illusion's timidness was not as present, indicating that he had toughened up a bit. Not that he wasn't scared anymore. No, he was still spooked by the smallest of things he didn't know, but he hid it better now.

"You know," the blond remembered, taking out his PokeDex, "I never actually checked any of you on the PokeDex, have it? I wonder what it says about all of you..."

"Cubone, the Lonely Pokemon. It pines for the mother it will never see again. Seeing a likeness of its mother in the full moon, it cries, making the skull rattle. Mandibuzz that hear its cries will attack it from the air. If it is sad or lonely, the skull it wears shakes and emits a plaintive and mournful sound. The stains on the skull are made by the tears it sheds. The skull is that of its dead mother, and because it is never taken off, no one knows what Cubone really looks like. According to some, it will evolve when it comes to terms with the pain of her death.

"Houndour, the Dark Pokemon. They hunt as a coordinated pack, communicating with each other using a variety of cries that only they can understand to corner their prey. The Pokémon's remarkable teamwork is unparalleled, even by Weavile. Around dawn, its ominous howl echoes through the area to announce that this is its territory.

"Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokemon. It changes into the forms of others to surprise them and protect itself. After surprising or tricking them, it flees. Apparently, it often transforms into a silent child." All of the entries made Alex think. He knelt so he could be level with his pokemon as he spoke.

"So, Illusion has the power not only to create illusions around him, but also on him, such as becoming a human or pokemon," the blond surmised, "Cerberus can only speak with others of his pack, but we somehow understand him, and Survivor can only evolve if he's come to terms with his other's death." Alex looked to the Cubone, "Have you?"

"Cu." the pure Ground-type nodded.

"It's kind of weird how haunting your entry was, don't you think? I wonder if there are worse ones..." Standing, Alex shook his head, "Let's just get to Mt. Moon for now." Before they could move, though, a sound came from overhead, getting louder and louder. Looking up in shock, they saw a giant pyramid fly over them, heading in the same direction as they were. Sharing a glance, they sped up to see where it was going to land, as it was strange and foreign to all of them. All were silent as they ran, unaware of the posters now being put up across various cities across the regions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Bulbapedia is a real website that tells you a lot of information about various things in the Pokemon World, but in this story it's like their version of Wikipedia.
> 
> 2\. With everything that he's gone through, I think it would be understandable for Alex to have PTSD.
> 
> 3\. I get the idea that some of the older, more battle-hardened trainers (i.e. Paul, Brandon, Brock) will curse if surprised or angry.
> 
> 4\. My headcanon is that the first pokemon a trainer gets is the only pokemon they can understand fully, like Paul with Torterra. Any other pokemon is harder to understand, such as Paul with Weavile. However, there are some lucky people who can understand any pokemon easily whether they know them or not (i.e. Alex, Anabel).


	7. Mt. Moon and the start of the Rota Arc

Alex wasn't sure  _why_  he was trying to find out where the giant flying pyramid landed, as it could be a very bad or dangerous thing, but he knew his curiosity was getting the best of him. Besides, he was going to go through Mt. Moon anyway, so why not follow the pyramid as well? Either way, it was quite dark in the mountain, so Alex had picked up a branch from outside and Cerberus lit it with his Ember. Being Dark-types, Illusion and Cerberus could see in the dark fine, but since Survivor and Alex couldn't, the torch was a great help. And as they ventured deeper into the mountain, they faced various trainers and got stronger. And yet, there was a feeling in the air they all could feel, a bad feeling, one that Survivor and Alex knew from one other time.

Team Rocket was there, somewhere. They were probably doing something awful to the pokemon of the mountain, too. It made the Cubone angry to the point he was ready to bash a few heads in, but his partner held him back. Alex knew Survivor would regret the consequences, no matter how much the pokemon said he wouldn't.

"Hmm..." They had just gone down the last set of ladders and the blond was checking the Town Map. Not much was on this floor and thanks to asking around Pewter, he knew what pokemon to expect, so it was easy. But the feeling of Team Rocket had gotten stronger when they had gone down a level, and there were no trainers here, so it was just a straight shot at them. There were also a few tunnels that let out of the mountain, one to Cerulean, one to Rota, etc., so hopefully they could beat down the Rockets and continue on to Rota before the day was over. Alex  _really_  didn't want to get stuck in here during the night...

His eyes left the map and shot around when he heard some rocks fall. His pokemon also became on edge at the sound, growling and searching for the source. Quickly Cerberus and Illusion saw who made the sound and pointed the thing out with their bodies. The boy's eyes narrowed, trying to pick out what was in the shadows.

"Who's there?" he barked.

"Cu..." hissed Survivor, straining against Alex's grip on him. When nothing happened, the blond decided to take a chance and threw the torch in that direction.

"Whoa!" Into the light came a large, muscled man and thin, yet also muscled girl, who were trying to dodge the fire of the torch. The man had spiky black hair in a ponytail, dark eyes, tanned skin, and wore only white pants, a black belt, and studded wristbands. The girl had pink hair and eyes (as strange as it was to Alex, he wasn't surprised), similar white pants, a blue and black shirt, fingerless blue and pink gloves, and a few bandages. Both were barefoot and had with them two pokemon, which the boy scanned using the PokeDex.

"Hitmonchan, the Punching Pokemon and one of the evolved forms of Tyrogue. It is said to possess the spirit of a boxer who had been working toward a world championship. This Pokémon has an indomitable spirit and will never give up in the face of adversity. Its punches can go faster than bullet trains and impossible to see, sometimes even causing burns if grazing something and can go through concrete, but it must rest after 3 minutes. A classic battle tale is fighting between a Hitmonchan and a Hitmonlee, another evolved form of Tyrogue.

"Lucario, the Aura Pokemon and final evolved form of Riolu. It is one of the few pokemon who can Mega Evolve, needing Lucarionite to do so. Not only does it perceive auras, which only well-trained ones can do, but it has also gained the power to control them. It employs them in battle, usually in attacks in Aura Sphere. With the aura detection ability, they can sense the species of a living being—and its emotions—from over half a mile away. They also hunt their prey in packs, using aura to sense their prey."

"Easy." said the girl (who seemed to be able Alex's age), "We mean you no harm."

"Then why did you hide from me? Who are you?" Honestly, the blond didn't want a fight, since Lucario and Hitmonchan were Fighting-types, Cerberus and Illusion were at huge disadvantages.

"My name is Bruno," the man bowed, "and this is Maylene. Originally we were planning to train here until Team Rocket came, occupying the second basement floor for some reason. We were about to attack them when you appeared."

"Martial artists, I'm guessing." Alex smiled at their surprised faces, "I'm a martial artist myself. And if Team Rocket is here, then I can help."

"Cu!" Survivor nodded fiercely, eyes ablaze.

"Wait, isn't that the Cubone from Lavender Town?" Maylene question, recognition flashing in her eyes. Alex nodded.

"Yeah, he's decided to travel with me. But we can't waste time talking, we need to find out what the Rockets are doing and stop them before it's too late." Picking up one end of the torch, Alex ground the burning end into the dirt, snuffing out the flame. Instantly things became alight when Lucario summoned an orb of blue energy, to which the boy nodded.

"Keep that up until we get to the stairs. We need to have darkness and surprise on our side if we hope to take them down. That is, if there are a lot of Rockets down there."

"You sound as if you've done this before." Bruno questioned.

"I have, sort of." Alex gestured them forward, "You two know this place better than I do, so lead the way." Sharing a glance, Maylene and Bruno hesitantly nod and walk forward, with Lucario in front to give light. Alex and his pokemon followed them, and Hitmonchan brought up the rear. The boy was uneasy about letting the Punching pokemon stay behind him, especially since he didn't know anything about it, but there was no way he could argue. Lucario snuffed out the light when they finally arrived at the ladder. They could easily hear soft whispers and movement from below, both of people and pokemon. After their eyes had adjusted, Alex nodded, where Bruno and Hitmonchan jumped down first, being the strongest. Nothing happened, so Maylene and Lucario went next. Again, nothing, so Alex and his pokemon quickly followed. They hid with the other trainers behind a few large boulders and peeked over to see what was going on.

The area was lit with spotlights as pokemon and Rockets dug into the rock, piling some of it into carts behind them. Overseeing it all was a bluish-green-haired man, a Golbat, and a floating, purple mine-like thing with a white skull-and-cross-bones symbol. The pokemon were on either side of him.

"D*mn!" Bruno growled softly, "They're taking all of the fossils!"

"And going to sell them." Maylene added, "The man up there, with the Golbat and Weezing, must be the leader. If we take him out, then we can cut off this operation."

"Alright. Maylene, you and I are going to take out the grunts from each side." Alex said, "Bruno, you wait until a path is cleared then take out the head guy. That way we cover everything without risking tiring our pokemon." Seeing the usefulness of his plan, they nodded.

"Bone!" Survivor was ready to defeat any Rocket that stood in his way, which was scaring Illusion and Cerberus a bit more. Returning the two, Alex rubbed Survivor's head as Maylene got into position. She and her Lucario kept to the shadows as they moved to the left side of the area. When she was in position, Alex saw her nod, allowing him to make his move. Like she and Lucario, he also did the same, except staying to the right side. And once he was in position, they attacked.

"Aura Sphere/Bonemerang!" Chaos broke out as Aura Spheres were sent everywhere and Survivor's club bounced off everything, regardless of the surface. Of course, the Cubone quickly switched tactics when they came across those who were not affected by ground-type moves (i.e. Zubats) or were not very affected by them (i.e. Sandslashes and Sandshrews). As many of them were low level grunts, it was very easy for Alex and Maylene to make a path for Bruno. However, the Rocket man was gone from the place he had been before, along with his pokemon.

"Pathetic." Alex whipped around at the voice, to see the Rocket man right behind him, despite the chaos, "Leech Life!" Before Survivor could do anything, the Golbat struck, biting into Alex's left arm.

"Bobo!" With a furious Brick Break, Survivor knocked away the Golbat, but not before Alex's blood had been considerably drained. Having been forced back by the sudden attack, Alex was now sitting against the wall, weakly holding his still-bleeding arm. He panted at the sudden tiredness and weakness he felt, glaring up at the man and his pokemon.

"Children like you should not get involved in the affairs of things you don't understand." the man tipped his hat to Alex, "My name is Proton, and consider this a fine warning. Weezing, Smokescreen!" The blond and his pokemon coughed as the black some enveloped the area, but was soon cleared out to show that Proton was gone. Many of the grunts were fleeing by the time one of the trainers spotted Alex.

"Kid!" It was Bruno and his Hitmonchan who came over first as Survivor tore the boy's pants with the sharp end of his club, trying to wrap it around the widely-spaced four holes. However, it wasn't working and, because of the bloodloss, Alex was beginning to black out. Unable to stay awake, even with the shouts at him and the tourniquet being made by Bruno, the last thing Alex heard was the opening of a pokeball and a strange, bone-chilling screech.

* * *

Slowly, he began to hear beeps as he awoke. He tried to open his eyes, but as it was too bright, he quickly shut them with a wince and tried to feel his way around. As he did, things started to come back to him. The cave, the darkness, Survivor, the Rockets, and Maylene and Bruno. Were they okay? Was Survivor? Thinking that his eyes were adjusted enough, Alex opened them and tried to sit up. He was in a bed, and the incessant beeps were coming from a pulse monitor, attached to his left wrist. The holes were wrapped up and, luckily, only his jacket had been taken off. It was hanging off of a hanger attached to the only door and seemed to also have been repaired or something, as there were no signs of injury or tears in it. And feeling something on his right arm, Alex looked to see that his upper arm only had a large bandage, similar to the ones Maylene had, on it. The only reasons he could come up with for the bandage was he had somehow scraped himself or he had been given a blood transfusion. He was betting on the later, mostly. Tearing off the pulse monitor and turning it off, he decided to look around, as his pokeballs were empty and no one was around. Were his pokemon alright? And where were they? Where was  _he_?

Gently putting on his jacket, wincing at the touch to his injury, he looked out of the room, which was whitewashed and made of stone. The window was arched and gigantic, nearly the same size as he was, and the area outside took his breath away. It looked as if he was in the castle of a kingdom and in the distance was a tree that had to be taller than even the Shard, the tallest building in England! Just below the castle, in what seemed to be a courtyard, was the giant previously-flying pyramid, which nearly reached the height of the window. And past that, over the mountains, the sun was setting.

 _Rota._  he thought,  _It has to be._  With that thought in mind, the left the room to look around. The tall arch of the hallway amazed him, along with the suits of armor that decorated it. Each suit was different, as some of them looked human, some looked pokemon, especially ones he didn't know. Luckily for him, at the bottom of each of the pokemon ones, it told what armor belonged to what pokemon. There were suits for Nidokings, Blastoises, and so many others Alex didn't know of. And without encountering them in person, the blond couldn't access them on his PokeDex, so he was clueless on what they looked like.

Soon enough he came across what looked like a throne room, where he saw not only his pokemon, Maylene, and Bruno, but also four others and some pokemon. One was a woman in regal dress, who looked to be the queen, with a small, pink and blue pokemon (reminiscent of Mimey) in her arms. Beside her stood a slightly armored man, most likely her guard, but the other two... Alex wasn't sure what to make of them. One was a redheaded man in a blue bandana and work clothes while the other was a brown-haired man (older and taller than the rest, except for Bruno, who was only slightly taller) with dark eyes and wore a green outfit with a black belt (with a bag attached), long white bandages wrapped around his legs, brown shoes, an orange collar, and large white buttons, about four. Besides Alex's pokemon, Lucario was also out, along with three similar-looking yet completely different pokemon, which surrounded the green-clothed man. One was made of metal, another ice, the last one rock. And as soon as Alex looked into the room, they all looked to him, creeping him out.

"Regi! Ice regire!"  _(Alex! He's awake!)_  said the Ice-type, attracting everyone's attention. Instantly, when they saw him, Illusion, Cerberus, and Survivor ran forward, the Dark-types jumping into his arms while the Cubone grabbed his face.

"Mmf!" Alex said in surprise, muffled by Survivor's body.

"Bobo/Zoru/Houn!" they all cried his name in happiness, snuggling him as if they thought he would disappear the second they let go. The humans across from them chuckled.

"Come now you three." said the green-clothed man, "Leave him be. You only saw him a few minutes ago." Reluctantly they did so, dropping to the ground, and Alex was immediately suspicious. It was not all the time that his pokemon gave in to the commands of others, especially those they didn't know or liked.

"Who are you? And is this Rota?"

"Not very polite, are you?"

"I'm in a strange place and have no idea who most of you are. Of course I'm rude." Alex snapped, "Now answer my questions."

"My name is Brandon and this is Samuel, my friend and engineer. And yes, you are at Rota."

"And you?" Alex glanced to the others.

"My name is Queen Ilene." said the woman, nodding, "And who are you? You still have no revealed your name, not even to the good people who brought you here."

"Mime mime?"  _(Who are you?)_  the small pokemon copied her nod and question.

"...I'm Alex." he bowed to her, "Nice to meet all of you." Slowly, he began walking over, wary of the three pokemon around Brandon, "What happened? How am I here?"

"We brought you here after you passed out." Maylene explained, "You've been out for only a few hours."

"You really scared us." Bruno added, "You lost so much blood that Brandon had to give you some of his." Alex glanced in surprise to the older man. His blood type was A Positive, so that must have meant they had the same blood type, but how did they know? He hadn't told them...

"...Thank you." he said slowly, "But isn't Rota farther away from Mt. Moon than Cerulean? Why here?"

"Me meditite medi medi."  _(I brought them here.)_  From behind Maylene came a small blue and whitish-pink pokemon with large, blank eyes.

"This is Meditite." Maylene explained, "Before going to Mt. Moon, we had heard of Brandon coming here, and the Battle Pyramid has a lot of medical supplies. Meditite remembered all of this and teleported us here."

"You were lucky, boy." Brandon spoke up, the happiness wiped off of his face, leaving it a blank slate, "You said you were a martial artist, so why did you let your guard down?" Instantly Alex went on the defensive.

"I didn't. He was fast and silent. Golbat was even faster than I was. There was no way neither Survivor nor I could have stopped them if we had tried." the blond glanced down to the Cubone, "But we're going to get stronger and show that guy a lesson."

"Bone/Rua/Dour!"  _(Yeah!)_  His pokemon all gave barks of agreement and Alex smiled.

"Then did you catch his name?" The boy met Brandon's eyes.

"He said his name was Proton." Alex wasn't about to tell the man or anyone else the other things he and Survivor heard.

"Well then," Ilene gave a smile, as if trying to diffuse the tension, "Alex, if you would like, Rota's blacksmiths can give you a weapon to defend yourself with if get into another situation like that. A staff, maybe? One that you can carry around?"

"Is there a catch?"

"Mime mime."  _(Not one.)_  the tiny pokemon shook its head, answering for her.

"...Then I guess I can take you up on that offer." Alex's gaze strayed back to the trio, which Brandon noticed.

"These three are the Regis, a legendary trio connected with another legendary pokemon called Regigigas." he explained, "Even apart these three are powerful, but all of them must come together to awaken their much bigger friend."

"I didn't think legendary pokemon could be caught." Alex mused aloud.

"You would be surprised." Brandon's eyes held a strange light in them, one that the blond couldn't identify but did not make him uneasy. It was weird to him, but for now, he didn't question it.

"And may I have a look around? I've never been here before."

"Of course." the queen turned to her pokemon, "Mime Jr., could you please show Alex around?" It saluted her.

"Mime mime!"  _(Yes ma'am!)_ Jumping out of her arms, it began leading the way out of the room. With only and glance back at them, Alex reluctantly followed, along with his pokemon. Silence reigned until they were sure that they were out of earshot.

"Good save." Bruno told Maylene, "But the blood type thing must have put him on edge."

"And we're the only ones who know the secret, so we must keep it that way." Ilene added, "For now, it would be best if we avoided him."

"But if we did, he would become more suspicious." Brandon argued, "And he'll ask about we know blood type. How are we supposed to cover that? I've seen his eyes, he'll want to know everything, and some of that can't be hidden."

"Then we'll have to hide it the best we can. Maybe the tournament will be able to stave off his questions." Maylene added hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Except for Proton, Bruno, Maylene, and Alex, what happens in Mt. Moon is the same as it is in the games.
> 
> 2\. No blood type is ever mentioned for any of the people in the Pokemon World, so I gave Brandon the same blood type as Alex for the story to make sense.
> 
> 3\. Alex's mystery pokemon finally appeared, but since he blacked out before he could see, we don't know what they pokemon is. However, other people do but they're not going to tell Alex.


	8. Rota Arc Pt. 2

"So he's called you up too?" Cassidy questioned Annie and Oakley, who nodded with apprehensive looks on their faces. Butch was behind her while Raticate was in his pokeball, not wanting to get involved. Usually, when you were called to the Boss' chamber, it was either for a mission, to be promoted, or be fired. From their recent failures, they thought it might be the later. Annie and Oakley, after the disaster in Alto Mare, were given small missions and hadn't been doing as well as they had before, losing recognition quickly. And Cassidy and Butch hadn't been doing all that well, either, but at least the two groups were better off than JJM, a.k.a. Jessie, James, and Meowth. It was a wonder how those three hadn't been fired yet... They all jumped when the doors opening, practically beckoning them into the room. Inside, across from them, was Giovanni and his Persian, like always.

"I know you four haven't been doing so well lately," he commented as the doors closed behind them, "and I have been contemplating firing you until now. Yesterday, Proton gave me the description of a boy who has foiled our plans before, over in Lavender Town. And this is also something I want you to look into." He slid across his desk a wanted poster of a blond boy and a Pawniard.

"Erm, then what do you want us to do?" Butch asked hesitantly.

"There are two boys, one in Kanto and the one in the poster is in Unova. I want them eliminated or, if you are unable to do that, get their names. They may look very similar, but you can tell the difference by their pokemon. Cassidy, Butch, you are going after the boy here in Kanto, the one with a Cubone, Zorua, and Houndour. Annie, Oakley, you are going after the boy in Unova, who has a Pawniard, Gible, and a Machop." The two groups saluted, though they now had a bad feeling about this.

"Yes sir!" Annie took the poster, folded it, and tucked it into a pocket.

"And be careful. The Kanto boy was with Elite Four member Bruno and Sinnoh Gym Leader Maylene when he encountered Proton. The Unova boy has managed to rob both Junipers in Nuvema Town, the Castelia City Gym, and the Nacrene Museum without getting caught." Suddenly Annie and Oakley weren't so sure they wanted to go after the Unova boy, but as they had already taken on the mission and this was practically their last chance, they couldn't say no.

"We will, sir!" Oakley assured before they left. After a few moments, Giovanni brought the poster back up on his computer. This one was different that the one Jenny had encountered, but the same as the one he had given his grunts. It was updated with the robberies he mentioned and the input Jenny had added, now showing the robbery picture from Nuvema Town and pictures of the boy and his pokemon at the bottom. There were no pictures of the boy from Kanto or of his pokemon.

"Perhaps the Unova boy will want to join. He seems nastier that the Kanto boy." he mused, petting Persian, "What do you think?"

"Sian..."  _(Maybe...)_  it purred, relishing in the petting.

* * *

After looking around the castle and not seeing much, Mime Jr. had brought Alex and his pokemon outside to see the city. People and pokemon were lighting lanturns, including pokemon he hadn't seen before. Looking at all of the pokemon around him reminded him of all the questions he had. How did they know his blood type? And he had seen the worry that had flashed in a few eyes before Meditite spoke up. Something had brought them here besides Meditite, but they weren't telling. Why were they lying to him? What did they have to hide? Suddenly feeling someone was watching him, Alex whipped around. He barely caught sight of a silver thing ducking behind a building, making him feel on edge.

"Mime mime?" _(Something wrong?)_ Mime Jr. paused, as did his pokemon. Staring for a few moments longer, Alex shook his head.

"It's noth-"

"Starly!"  _(Attack!)_  In the blink of an eye they were attacked by a small, black and white bird. Alex covered his head as his pokemon tried to get rid of his attacker, butt were unable to in fear of hurting him. Claws were raked across his arms, reopening his wounds, and he was forced to bite his lip to keep from crying out. He bit so hard that he accidentally started to bleed, having a new metallic taste in his mouth.

"Edge, hone honedge hone!"  _(Die, you filthy beast!)_  The bird's claws were blocked by a floating sword, parrying each strike and protecting Alex. Unable to hurt the human, the bird backed off, resting on a wire that held some lanturns. Its feathers were puffed up in anger and a scar was over its left eye, but didn't impair it. A silver sword was floating in front of the blond with a blue tassel that seemed to hold on to a intricately carved brown-gray sheath. While he had the chance, Alex brought out his PokeDex, which also scanned Mime Jr.

"Starly, the Starling Pokemon. They flock around mountains and fields in great numbers, chasing after bug Pokémon. Their singing is noisy and annoying and, though small, they flap their wings with great power. Because they are weak individually, they form groups. However, they bicker if the group grows too big and are almost unnoticable individually.

"Mime Jr., the Mime Pokemon. It habitually mimics foes, usually to confuse it if in danger. Once mimicked, the foe cannot take its eyes off this Pokémon. And once the enemy is confused, it wastes no time making itself scarce! However, the mimicking helps it to understand the feelings and emotions of others, which is why it is usually found in places where many pokemon or people gather.

"Honedge, the Sword Pokemon. Apparently this Pokémon is born when a departed spirit inhabits a sword. It attaches itself to people if they grab the hilt and drinks their life force through its tassel." With an unsettling hiss, the Starly quickly flew off into the night, leaving them alone. Alex held his bleeding arms, glad that the scratches weren't deep, as the Honedge turned around, sliding back into its sheath. Much to the blond's surprise, a single blue eye poked out through the sheath, probably allowing the pokemon to see.

"Hone hone edge, hone?"  _(Are you okay, sir?)_  it asked, "Ed edge ho edge ho honedge hone edge edge geho honed!"  _(I did my best to protect you from that evil dragon!)_  Alex blinked at the knight-like speaking pattern of the Honedge.

"I'll be fine." the blond assured it, "I just need new bandages." It bowed to him, sweeping its tassel like an arm.

"Edge honed ho ho honedge hone edge edge."  _(Then allow me to protect you once more.)_  Alex blinked, but did nothing to stop the pokemon from following him, keeping his eyes on the sky as Mime Jr. led them back.

* * *

"I can't  _believe_  you!" Alex paused as he heard Sam's voice in a room they had been passing. Making a gesture for the pokemon to be quiet, he opened the door to a crack to see what was going on. It was a bedroom, similar to the one the blond had woken in, and inside were Brandon and Sam. The elder man looked tired, though, and not very good, his tanned skin an unnatural pale. He was sitting on the bed as Sam crouched, unwrapping the bandages around the man's legs and keeping them out of Alex's sight.

"It's bad enough you help Honedge, but you could have let someone else give blood for Alex! You were barely on your feet in there!" Brandon weakly shrugged him off.

"You know as well as I do that I had to, otherwise Alex would die. No one else had the same blood type."

"Yeah, but  _you_  could have died instead!" Sighing, Sam pinched the bridge of his nose, "If I wasn't here, you would be getting hurt a lot more than you are now. As it is, get some sleep."

"Thank you, Sam." The younger man stood, putting the bandages on the bedside table and allowing Alex to see Brandon's legs. To the boy's shock, they were covered in deep scars, making him wonder how Brandon was still standing and how long he had had them.

"No problem. As for Honedge, you're much too tired to feed it and it can understand."

"Then why don't you feed it?" A visible shiver went down Sam's spine.

"It's a ghost pokemon that steals life energy! No way!"

"Coward. Besides," Brandon took off his jacket with fumbling fingers, revealing a white tank underneath, "Honedge doesn't take much. It knows it can never get as much as it wants because that would kill me, so it regulates itself to 5-minute feedings."

"Still..." The elder looked at his friend sternly.

"Would you rather have Honedge die?" Sam paused.

"...No." the younger man began walking towards the door, "Good night." Alex quickly returned his pokemon and darted behind the nearest piece of armor, which was (luckily) a human suit, while dragging Mime Jr. with him. Honedge caught on and positioned itself as a sword in the suit's grip just as the door opened.

"You too." Brandon called and then the door was closed, where Sam walked away, not giving the suit of armor a glance. Once the man was out of earshot and sight, Alex came out, having had to cover Mime Jr.'s mouth so they wouldn't be discovered. Putting the pokemon down, Alex, Honedge, and Mime Jr., looked into the room again. This time, all the Regis were out, Rock holding Brandon's regular and sleeping clothes as Steel helped him dress. Strangely, Ice was floating around, seeming to stare at nothing. Brandon suddenly sighed.

"Regice, if I didn't know you any better, I would say that you have some sort of ADHD outside of battle."

"Regice..." _(Pretty...)_  said the pokemon, staring at a vase of flowers. But upon touching them, they were instantly frozen, causing Regice to jerk away. It continued to stare at the flowers, though.

"Reg regi?"  _(You okay?)_ asked Steel of Brandon as it pulled off his shirt. There was only one scar this time, on the man's back. It looked like a large patch of burned skin with the usual pink, covering most of the man's back, but different. It looked rough, almost like it had been repeatedly cut and then healed.

"Yeah, just tired." he rubbed the pokemon's head, which was more like it had no head, only a body. The colored holes in the pokemon's head flashed a pattern before going back to normal.

"Re ste ste re..."  _(If you say so...)_  Steel then began helping him into plain, light green pajamas, but also with the large white buttons. Rock put away the regular clothes before taking something out of the bag on Brandon's belt. It was a large blue orb, glowing softly at the pokemon's touch.

"Regirock rock...reg." _(Master seems...sad.)_ Rock said, putting the orb on the bedside table.

"I don't blame it." Brandon said as Steel finished up, gently brushing him off with its long arms, "I bet he could feel things coming off of Alex that we couldn't, things that we might not understand or hope to. And yet, I want to help the boy."

"Ice?"  _(Why?)_  asked Regice, turning around.

"Like I told the others, I could see what was in Alex's eyes. Something deeply hurt him, possibly something we can't fix. But we can try, can't we? Leaving it be is worse than doing something to help." That was all Alex heard, as he finally left.

"Hone hone honedge?"  _(Are you alright?)_

"Fine." the blond said, almost too quickly, "I'm going to bed. You can join me if you want. Mime Jr., you can return to Ilene now. I think I can find my way around well enough." The Mime pokemon gave the boy a glance before hesitantly leaving. Honedge also glanced back, towards Brandon's room, before deciding to follow Alex, who had released his other pokemon. They all walked/floated in silence, the human giving off an air of something strange that the pokemon didn't want to disturb. They didn't speak either as Alex took the first aid kit of his room and patched himself up or when he went to bed in his clothes, not bothering to take them off. It's not like the boy could wear bedclothes anyway, as he had none. He hadn't bothered to take any Delia had offered him when he had left Pallet, because his clothes strangely never seemed to dirty or tire.

* * *

Paul could tell they were getting close to Rota when Torterra forced himself out of his pokeball, acting more animated than usual. Getting close to the Tree of Beginning did that to pokemon, he knew, so he didn't bother to return his partner. Weavile walked beside him, as she had all the way from Mt. Moon. Rota was at least a two day's journey on foot, and yet the plumhead knew they were making good time, especially with the oncoming traffic of trainers that was bound to come the next day for the tournament. But ever since the morning, his mind had been occupied by Alex.

The boy was a beginner, had no idea what was out here, and yet... He seemed older than his age and could probably defend himself. Yet something had happened to him, causing nightmares and PTSD. Who has PTSD at 15? Someone who has been terribly hurt by something, hurt so badly that it must have left deep mental scars. Who tortures such a boy? Madmen. At least, that's what Paul's thinking was.

And as they crested the hill, finally catching sight of Rota and of the few camps on the road ahead, the teen knew what he had to do. Despite his cold exterior, he knew the extent of nightmares. The only way to get rid of them (for the most part) was to either have something comforting by your side or face them head on. And he was going to help Alex get rid of his nightmares as much as he could, as best as he could.

* * *

When he awoke, the blond found most of the pokemon laying around him, on the large bed, with the exception of Honedge. The pokemon was asleep against the wall, most likely afraid of draining Alex's energy in its sleep if it got too close. Feeling a pang of hunger, he was reminded of last night and quietly got up, managing not to disturb any of his pokemon. Noting the time of the old-fashioned alarm clock on the bedside table, he quietly went over and grabbed Honedge's hilt. Almost as if on instinct, the tassel wrapped around his arm and began to glow. The touch also awoke the Sword pokemon.

"Ho?" it questioned groggily, trying to get itself awake. When it saw Alex, its eye widened, but before it could speak or pull away, Alex put a finger to his lips for quiet and tightened his grip on the hilt.

"I know you didn't have anything to eat last night," the boy whispered, "and I don't mind feeding you. You don't deserve to go hungry, unlike a few people I once knew. So let me help." For some reason, Alex had the feeling those words would someday come to bite him in the ars*, but ignored it for now. Honedge still gave him a wide-eyed stare until the boy had to pull away, feeling much more tired than he expected. He supposed that's what happened when your life energy was taken, but he was sure it could come back and he help Honedge. After all, the Steel-/Ghost-type had saved him from getting his eyes scratched out.

"H-hone edge..."  _(Y-your past...)_ it murmured, making the blond freeze, "Ed hone ho edge honedge, ho edge edge..."  _(I felt so much sadness, so much hurt...)_  Alex stood rapidly.

"It's nothing to be concerned with." he snapped, making Honedge flinch and Cerberus, Illusion, and Survivor wake up, but only a little. The slamming door he caused upon leaving jolted all of them fully awake.

* * *

**PokeSpeak:**

Looking around, Alex's pokemon didn't see him but saw Honedge, quickly coming to conclusions that made them glare.

"What did you do to Alex?" Survivor growled.

"Nothing, my good sir!" Honedge held up his tassel in a defensive gesture, "He allowed me to take some of his life energy and I felt some of his memories by accident." The sword-shaped pokemon looked away sadly, "They were terrible, even with as little as I felt. He has been mangled by men and women who wish to see his hurt and sadness. There was also a pit of emptiness, as if he had nothing left." These words subdued the other pokemon, who had seen only parts of how badly hurt Alex was.

"And yet..." Honedge continued, looking a little better, "There was a light in that pit. A warm light, which I believe is us." it turned back to Alex's pokemon, "I believe it is a light of hope for him, for a reason I do not know. It may the only thing keeping him from going completely dark, which means you must stay by his side and help him in whatever ways you can."

"Maybe you weren't just touching his memories." Illusion offered, "I think you might have been touching his soul as well, and that might be partially why he left. He was spooked that someone could see through him so easily."

"So maybe you could join us." Cerberus added, "It would be helpful to know what he's feeling when we can't see it." He continued in a quiet murmur, "Especially with what happened at the Pewter Gym..."

"I would be delighted to join!" Honedge nodded, but then sombered, "I doubt your partner will want me, though, after what I said. How does he know our language, though?"

"Don't know, and I doubt it." Survivor leapt to the ground, "Alex is a complicated boy, but he'll want someone to talk to. He can talk to us, tell us what he's been through, but he doesn't want to because he thinks it'll frighten us. But he'll want  _you_  because you'll know a few things about him and that will make him feel better, that someone else knows his pain, if only somewhat."

"And  _that_  is why you're his main partner." Illusion's ears twitched as he and Cerberus joined the Ground-type, "Now, let's go find him before he gets himself in trouble. Red wouldn't be happy, having to reveal itself again."

**PokeSpeak End**

* * *

After slamming the door, the blond leaned against it, trying to calm down. There was no reason to get worked up when Honedge touched something it wouldn't understand, was there? And yet, it scared him how easily the pokemon was able to see past his mask and right into the heart of him. But it also made him a bit glad, since someone else would know how he was like and not judge him. At least, learn to not pity him if the Honedge joined his team. But upon doing so would take it out of Brandon's protection, and the boy wasn't sure the man would like that.

Feeling another pang of hunger, Alex pushed off the door and began making his way to the kitchen, tucking his thoughts away for later. But as he passed Brandon's door, he paused. Contemplating for a second, he sighed and went over to the door. He knocked gently and was soon met with a groan.

"Leave me be!" the man called in a sleepy tone.

"What if I wanted to come in anyway?" There was a pause.

"Alex?" Soon enough there was movement and the door was opened, but not by Brandon. In front of the lad was a dark gray and white, mummy-like creature with a single red eye, two white hands, but no arms.

"Dus dus Clop?"  _(You are Alex?)_  it asked, "Dusclops, clop ops." _(Please, come in.)_  It stepped aside, revealing the room and allowing Alex to come inside. Much like the blond, it seemed Brandon slept with all of his pokemon out. There were the Regis, the mummy, a floating orange stone with yellow spikes that made it look like a sun with eyes, and an over-sized red, yellow, black, and gray mosquito with ninja markings.

"Regi!" Regice cheered his name, happy to see the boy again. Brandon, however, was not. Sitting up in bed with his covers pulled around him, he was glaring with an embarrassed blush on his face.

"What do you think you're doing here?" he growled.

"I came to invite you to breakfast." Alex said, "I can wait outside, in the hallway. But I do want to ask you a few questions."

"Solrock so sol, ro ro rock sol."  _(Answer we can, if he does not.)_  said the sun-shaped rock pokemon, reminding the blond of Yoda from  _Star Wars_.

"...I think I can take you up on that offer." With a nod, Alex stepped out of the room and, as soon as the door was closed to a crack, began.

"How do you know by blood type?" he got straight to the point as Brandon returned most of his pokemon except for Steel, the ninja bug, and Rock. Like last night, they began to help him dress, with the ninja bug helping with the bandages. He usually helped when Sam wasn't there.

"I can't tell you." Brandon sighed, "I can't tell you a thing about what happened after you were attacked because I, along with the rest of us here, have to keep it a secret. It's not my idea, mind you, but I have no choice. There are great consequences if I answer."

"For you or for me?"

"For everyone." Alex was quiet as he thought about it, his pokemon arriving. As usual, Survivor and Illusion took their seats on his shoulders as Cerberus stayed by his feet, now with the addition of Honedge. The blond barely gave the Sword pokemon a glance upon its appearance, too focused on asking Brandon to care about what happened before. It was not out of his mind, however.

"Then why are you here?"

"I study ruins." the man explained, "The Battle Pyramid is actually the last battle facility of the Kanto Battle Frontier, but the only way challengers can get to me is if they defeat the other six first. It gives me a lot of time to do stuff I love since very few get that far, including exploring ruins and digging them up if they're buried."

"So the giant tree, it's some sort of ruin?"

"No." Though Alex couldn't see him, Brandon shook his head, "I'm more centered on the history of Rota, this place. The Tree of Beginning has no tolerance for humans and will kill them on sight if it deems them a threat to not just itself but to the pokemon that inhabit it."

"Then what's the history?" Alex leaned against the wall, careful of Illusion and Survivor, as Brandon smiled.

"Long, long ago, this place was a kingdom at war with another, where not only pokemon fought but humans did to. You've seen the suits of armor in the halls, those once belonged to the warriors that protected this land. As the Tree of Beginning is located here, the war was about controlling Rota to get the tree. However, a knight named Sir Aaron ended the war by going to the Tree to ask for its help. Ever since then, not much has changed except for when Ash came by."

"Again that name. I've heard it twice from two different people already, both were once his rivals. He fought and beat you, I'm guessing?"

"Yes, but the way he did it... Well that's another story for another time." Returning his pokemon, as he was now dressed, he left his room to join Alex in the hall. Pushing himself off the wall, the blond and the brunette began walking together as Brandon continued, "He came here before fighting me, along with his friends, to compete in the festival that will happen in a few day's time, which celebrates Sir Aaron and what he did for the kingdom. Mew, the legendary pokemon that lives in the Tree of Beginning, had some fun by kidnapping Ash's Pikachu, which caused him and his friends to go get the Electric-type back."

"You said that the Tree doesn't like humans." the elder man nodded.

"Yes, but before I get into that, Ash managed to awaken Lucario, Sir Aaron's partner, whom he had imprisoned in his staff. Lucario also went on the journey with them to find out why Sir Aaron had locked him away."

"Why hadn't he been released before?"

"Because of Aura."

"Aura?"

"It's what all living things have. If you don't have aura, you're not living. Lucarios, Riolus, and very special humans, like Sir Aaron, have the ability to sense it and even control it."

"Yeah, the PokeDex mentioned it a little when I scanned Maylene's Lucario. So, Sir Aaron's Lucario went with them?"

"Yes. The Tree, seeing the humans as a disease, used its immune system to kill them. But Mew, seeing how much the pokemon cared for their trainers, used its power to bring them back, causing the system to go into shock and dooming the Tree to die. It was then that Lucario and Ash used Aura to save the Tree, but at the cost of Lucario's life, as with Sir Aaron, which they all learned at the end."

"You said only special humans can sense and use Aura. How was Ash one of them?" This made Brandon pause, also forcing them to stop walking.

"I'm not quite sure myself. Sir Aaron's gloves were on site, though, and gave him a boost in using his powers." he looked the blond in the eyes, "He knows what he has, Alex, but he doesn't want to use it. Like how there are good sides to things, there are also bad sides. Aura is one of the most life-saving forces, but also one of the most devastating. He's a very wise boy, in some aspects, including that."

"How is that wise?" Alex questioned, "If he trained himself, then he could use his power for good, wouldn't he?"

"Perhaps, but when I met him the first time, it was when I was investigating the ruins of an ancient city once known as Pokelantis. The king was trapped as a spirit, but Ash released him. I then had to fight Ash to free him and defeat the king once more. My guess is that Ash knows how bad things would be if the king had ever gotten hold of his Aura powers."

"...So, if he can't use them, then no one else can use them, either." The man nodded.

"Correct." he glanced down at the pokemon, sighting Honedge, "I see you and Honedge have quickly become friends." Alex followed his gaze.

"Not really." he gave a small smile, one that was genuine, "But I think we can get there. And don't worry about feeding it, I did so for you." This made a worried look cross the green-clothed man's face.

"Are you okay? Giving your life force to a pokemon is not something you can just do every day. It's tiring and puts a strain on you." Alex shrugged.

"I feel fine." Much to his own surprise, he did. He barely remembered being weary after the feeding.

"And your arm?" Looking down, Alex felt his eyebrows raise slightly. His jacket was fine once again. There were no marks from the Starly attack, except what he could feel on his skin, under the bandages. It was like his jacket was a living being that healed itself every night. Weird...

"It's doing much better. Thanks again for the transfusion."

"No problem." Brandon gave him a pat on the back, "Let's keep going so we don't miss breakfast. Trust me, my pokemon wouldn't like it at all if they missed breakfast. Especially the Regis, who are bigger terrors in food than on the battlefield."

"Right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. The next chapter explains the Starly, the scar it got, and why it and the Honedge are in Kanto.
> 
> 2\. Brandon is the only guy I know in the games, manga, or anime who wears those bandages on his legs, so he's got to have something under them, right? And with how tough he is, he's got to have scars elsewhere as well. Sam knows about them because, since he works with Brandon, he has to know at least something about his employer. As for why his pokemon are helping him dress, Ninjask and Registeel are the only ones (besides Dusclops, who only does it when there's no rush) who are human-like enough to do it.
> 
> 3\. Red is the nickname Illusion gave to Alex's secret pokemon, but it won't stay that way once Alex finds out who the secret pokemon is. Said secret pokemon is also linked to Alex's clothes repairing and his health/weariness.
> 
> 4\. Some sections where it's just pokemon talking will be switched to PokeSpeak to make things easier on everyone.


	9. Rota Arc Pt. 3

As his pokemon raced to eat the offered food, Alex stopped in the doorway to the dining room. It was quite large, with a long table and many chairs. Memories came up as he remembered how many times he had sat at such tables. Glancing away to clear his mind, he saw the Regis come out of their pokeballs and rush to the food with as much fervor as Alex's own. With a chuckle, Brandon released the rest of his pokemon so they could also eat. At the table, besides the approaching pokemon, was Maylene, her Lucario and Meditite, Bruno, his Hitmonchan and a gray bipedal pokemon with a belt and huge muscles that Alex didn't recognize, and Sam. Queen Ilene, Mime Jr., nor their entourage was to be seen.

Leaving everyone else alone, Alex walked to a nearby balcony, finding the queen and her pokemon there, a guard beside them. She was looking over the kingdom as, in the distance, people and pokemon began to appear and enter the ancient town. For a second, Alex thought he saw Paul among the trainers approaching, but shrugged it off. Anyone with a Torterra could be mistaken for the plumhead at such a distance. Suddenly turning, Ilene spotted him from the corner of her eye and gave a smile.

"Hello, Alex. Have you eaten already?" The blond kept his distance from her as he shook his head.

"Not yet." he answered, "I heard you were going to have a tournament, so is that why so many trainers are coming?" She nodded.

"Correct. In fact, it will be held in two days so there will be enough time for others to arrive. You may compete if you would like."

"It would give me some practice..." he muttered, "Where do I sign up?"

"There are sheets around town, pinned to the walls. The assortment will be random, but hopefully you and your pokemon will be able to last a while."

"So no sections for rookies or anything?"

"There will be, of course, so everyone can have an equal chance." she turned back to watching the trainers come, "Each winner of each section will be able to fight each other if they wished, but they can back out if what they went through was enough for them. Would you go all the way?"

"..." Alex was silent, "...Did you know you have a vicious Starly about?"

"Ah. I was wondering when you would ask that, after Mime Jr. told me what happened." Ilene sighed, "As you know, birds fly south for the winter. A flock of Starly came down here from their native Sinnoh last year, but that Starly became injured and could not make its way home. Its flock did not even try to help it, so it felt betrayed and now trusts no one. Honedge, Brandon's small companion, accidentally made the scar to the Starly after it attacked the Sword pokemon. They have been enemies ever since and I have no idea what to do about it all. I don't wish to hurt the Starly, but as it is, I may have no choice."

"Allow me to get rid of it." The young queen turned to Alex in surprise.

"You? Why?"

"I think I can get it to stop attacking, but I have to go alone. Please don't tell this to anyone else." She blinked, then slowly nodded.

"Of course, but would you like to have your staff before you go? It's nearly finished."

"Maybe. Where's the forgery?"

"On the other end of town, near the gates." she pointed it out to him, "And please, be careful."

"I will, Ms. Ilene." Tipping to her an invisible hat, Alex left. He needed to eat first before he took on the Starly and had to find a way to convince his pokemon to leave him alone while he did it. Maybe there was a way to kill two birds with one stone...

* * *

After breakfast, when he saw the martial artists leaving together, he questioned them with what they were doing. When they answered that they were going to practice their skills, that gave Alex an idea.

"Let me join you." he offered, glancing to Brandon, "I want to prove that I  _can_  defend myself, even though some people don't believe me." Brandon's eyes narrowed as he frowned, but he followed into a sideroom, where martial arts equipment was set up. Before Lucario could go over to spar with Maylene, Alex put a gentle had on his shoulder. With the pokemon's attention on him, he glanced to the sparring mat, hoping Lucario would get the message. The Aura pokemon raised an eyebrow, but nodded and walked to the mat with him. This attracted attention.

"What are you doing?" Maylene asked.

"I've never sparred with a pokemon, so I want to see what it's like." the blond met Lucario's eyes, "Don't you dare go easy on me."

"Ca cario."  _(Of course.)_  They bowed to one another once Alex was ready, then slid into fighting stances. Lucario made the first move, darting forward with an underhanded punch, which Alex blocked. They exchanged a few more punches before things got heated. They next punch from the Steel-/Fighting-type was high, where Alex used it against the pokemon by grabbing the paw and using Lucario's momentum against him by throwing him over the boy's shoulder. Lucario tumbled but stopped in a crouch, a spark of respect in his eyes as he stood once again, still ready to fight. He kicked this time, where Alex grabbed the appendage once again, but did not throw it. Lucario punched, trying to free himself, but Alex dodged and tugged Lucario's foot to the side, where they were now side-by-side, if pointing in different directions. And before Lucario could turn around, the blond was like lightning, giving the pokemon a roundhouse kick to the back and then a foot sweep to make sure the Aura pokemon fell.

Wincing at the pain in his back, Lucario rolled out of the way of a punch that had been made at him and caught Alex in the stomach with one of his own. The boy gasped, his breath leaving him as Lucario got away. However, as the pokemon got to his feet again, he was smiling. Summoning a Bone Club, Lucario gestured for Alex to attack. It looked like Lucario was happy to have someone he could actually challenge for once. Getting his breath back, Alex did so, using a combination of hand and foot attacks, Lucario blocking each one. However, the blond then grabbed the staff with both hands, tugging it downward, where the pokemon was forced to follow and got a knee to the chin, forcing him to let go. As soon as he did, the staff flickered, looking like it was going to go out, as it should have once it left Lucario's grip, but did not. Instead, to the surprise of many, it solidified once again, but as a red color this time. Alex, both in surprise and not wishing to have an advantage over his opponent, dropped the staff, where it truly did disappear. The two fighters shared a glance before continuing with their spar, where Lucario began to have great respect for Alex. The boy was certainly better than Maylene, as he was lasting longer than she ever had, and had many surprises up his sleeves, apparently.

"What was that about?" Bruno whispered to Maylene as the fight continued. She shook her head.

"I don't know. That's never happened before. Lucario's staff usually disappears when someone tries that, it's strange how and why it did that."

"Do you suppose it could be because of Alex's pokemon?" Brandon spoke.

"It's possible..." Hearing a thump, they turned to see Alex over a fallen Lucario, a strange look in his eyes. They weren't the warm chocolate they usually were, they were now pieces of hard flint. But with a blink, Alex's eyes lost the look of no emotion and he held out a hand to help Lucario, which the pokemon gratefully accepted. Glancing to the doorway, Alex's eyes widened as he spotted who was standing there. Things just got more complicated.

"Paul?" Everyone turned and much to Brandon's own surprise, the plumhead was there with his Weavile, having returned his Torterra earlier.

"So we meet again, as cheesy as that sounds." the teen spoke.

"And I assume you've gotten better after our last fight?" Glancing between the two, Alex could tell Paul and Brandon obviously had a history together.

"Yeah, but I want to wait until after the tournament to challenge you." Paul looked at Alex, "And I hope we get a chance to fight sometime, if not in the tournament." He then left. It then occurred to the boy that this gave him the perfect opportunity to go after the Starly, so he quickly dated after Paul, his pokemon (except Honedge) trailing behind.

"Wea?" Weavile's ears twitched and she looked back as Alex entered the hall. Paul also looked back as well and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want?"

"Could you please keep an eye on my pokemon?" Alex returned them before they could protest and practically threw the balls into the older teen's arms, "Thanks!" He was gone in seconds, leaving the trainer and his pokemon alone in the hall as Alex's pokemon tried to force themselves out and go after their master.

"...Weavi wea vile vile."  _(That's one weird kid.)_

"Whatever you said, I agree."

* * *

The blond slowed down once he was outside the castle, watching as various trainers and their pokemon filtered into the town. Immediately he started off by signing up on a nearby sheet before weaving his way through the crowds until he was in a more deserted portion. As soon as he was alone, something darted from the sky and grabbed the sheath that was at his side. The Starly chirped in surprise as a normal sword slid out and fell to the ground as Alex turned to face it.

"Look," he began, face hard and voice emotionless, "Queen Ilene told me about what happened to you. I'm not here to say sorry for it, but what's past is past. Just because other pokemon abandoned you doesn't mean you can't trust humans."

"Sta star ly starly ly star ly star!"  _(You have no right to tell me that!)_ the Starly cawed angrily.

"I may not have been abandoned, but I have been scarred, physically and mentally, like you have!" the boy shot back, shocking the pokemon at his boldness as he held up his left hand and pointed to an almost unnoticeable line on the back of it, "This is the smallest scar I have, but it shows that I have been hurt like you. Not in the same way, but I still have been hurt deeply. You lost your flock, I've lost everything I had. Over a week ago I didn't know anything about pokemon and now I have myself a team, but they aren't family. I lost that a short time ago and can never get it back, along with my trust." he met the bird's eyes, "Have you ever been betrayed by someone you thought was supposed to help you, no matter what? Of course you have, that happened with your flock. As for me, I was betrayed by my godfather, who threw me into the fire because of his own vengeful wishes. So please," his eyes softened and he held out an arm for the Starly to land on, "give trusting one more chance. Just because you have been burned once doesn't mean you have to turn your back on everything. If you trust the right person, the right people, they will never leave you behind." Starly stared at him before flapping its wings and taking to the sky. Alex sighed, lowering his arm and turning away, before his head shot up in surprise at the sudden (yet very light compared to what he was used to) weight on his shoulder.

"Star. Sta star starlyly sta star starly." _(Okay. I'll give trusting one more chance.)_ said the Starly, who the blond was beginning to identify as male, "Sta ly star star starly, Iy starstar lyly star sta!"  _(But if this ends badly, I'm clawing your eyes out!)_  He held up a talon for emphasis and Alex, who wasn't sure why he did when he was being threatened, laughed. This nearly shocked the Starling pokemon into unbalance at the unexpectedness of it. Placing a hand on the bird to steady him, the boy calmed down and smiled.

"Honestly, I didn't think you would accept me so easily. But as it is, maybe we both can go down the road of trust together. After all it  _is_  a two-way street..." Letting go of Starly once his balance was back, Alex walked back to the castle. He also caught and named the Starly at the pokemon's consent, naming him (somewhat childishly) Scar, as that was the standing-out icon of the little, yet fearsome pokemon. Now, getting Scar to accept Honedge, that was going to be a problem if Alex was having the Steel-/Ghost-type on his team, especially with the history the two had. Similar to Brandon and Paul... The Brit gave a sly smile as he began to come up with an idea. No one would like it, probably, but it gave him a chance to see who he could and couldn't trust.

* * *

Immediately upon seeing one another, Scar and Honedge hissed, angry at the other. Alex's other pokemon shifted in place at Paul's feet, glaring and unsure how to get back to their partner with Scar in the way. Weavile rolled her eyes at their overprotective actions, but stood back. She wasn't about to get involved, to which she got glowered at by her master, who was in the thick of it all. The only others in the room were Brandon, Queen Ilene, Mime Jr., and a guard. Alex had just returned and already things weren't going well.

"Knock it off." the blond said shortly, the cold look flashing in his eyes as he snapped his fingers. Both angry pokemon flinched, stopping their hissing, but continued to glare at one another. Seeing that was the best he was going to get, Alex turned to the humans in the room, "I managed to get Scar to join my team without injury, as I promised, Ms. Ilene. As it is, I know of the perfect training exercise to help these two get along, if I want both of them on my team." At that, Scar and Honedge both looked interested.

"And what, exactly, is your plan?" Brandon was again skeptical.

"Well," Alex slid his hands into his pockets, bracing himself for the feedback, "as you and Paul have a history and don't seem to trust one another, why don't you take Honedge while Paul takes Starly in the Double Battle portions?" Both men and pokemon stared at him like he was insane. He only raised an eyebrow.

"What? You don't think I'm serious? Oh, I'm  _dead_  serious, because if you hope to be my friend, then I have to know I can trust you completely. I can't just stay and sleep around here, knowing nothing about you, like how you might slit my throat in the middle of the night. I need  _complete_  and  _absolute_  trust." Alex's eyes didn't quite gain the cold look again, but they had gone hard as he talked, "Is that understood?"

"...Yes." Paul said quietly. The younger teen nodded and shook Scar off, causing the Starly to go to the plumhead's shoulder.

"Then I guess you had better get started." With Illusion, Cerberus, and Survivor hesitantly trailing behind him, the blond left.

"He's crazy if he thinks I'm going along with this." Paul made to leave, but was stopped when Brandon grabbed his free shoulder. He gave the Frontier Brain an angry look, only to be stopped by the fierce look the elder held.

"I doubt you just came here to battle if you know Alex." he began, "Do you still hope to become his friend?" Paul snorted.

"A friend? To him?" he paused, "...Maybe. He's hurt, deep down, but his pokemon help him with that, don't they?"

"You can't help what you don't understand." Ilene spoke quietly, solemnly, "If you are right, Paul, then Alex needs as much human companionship as he does pokemon. He is right, though, as not only would this event give him the trust he needs, it would also help you with whatever past you two, Honedge, and Scar all have."

"I'm game if you are." Brandon said. Paul stared at him, then slowly nodded.

"Just this once. No more." he added in a mutter.

"Of course." The four (five, counting Weavile) then left the room to find a battlefield. They might as well start practicing, after all. Alex's trust was on the line for most of them. Scar wasn't worried, as he had already been accepted into what he assumed was a very small group, judging by the way Alex talked about trust, but Honedge and the men were. Honedge hoped to gain the boy's trust to help him open his heart, Paul wanted to show Alex that he wasn't alone in his nightmares, and Brandon... He wasn't sure of his reason.

Why had Alex chosen him instead of himself to command Honedge? He could have gotten more trust by doing so, right? Then why did he do this? And why did the man not object? Was it because he wanted to help Alex, just like Paul and his pokemon? Or was there something more to it? Whatever it was, he was going to use this time to show he wasn't just the battle-hardened man most saw him as. He had a heart buried deep inside, just like the plumhead beside him. They used their hearts, of course, but not often. That was why they were thought of as cold and heartless, probably. But this time, they were going to throw the moniker away if just to show Alex that they  _could_  be trusted.

* * *

**PokeSpeak:**

After a long day of fighting side-by-side, Scar and Honedge were taking a rest. Despite how their temporary masters were starting to get along, they still weren't.

"I can't believe how he left me to fight with you!" Scar snarled as he sat on the bench above where Honedge was laying on the ground, "He said all these things about trust and then he brings me here to get along with  _you_! Why did I ever trust  _him_?!"

"Give him a chance, beast." said Honedge, too tired to float. He waved his tassel like a hand instead, brushing off the words, "You cannot seem to see how badly hurt he is, but he can be trusted. He did this for our own good because not only can we help him, he can help us. I wish to help him talk about his past with no hope of anything in return, you want someone to trust, as does he. If we are to ever help him, then we must get along."

"He did this so he wouldn't have to deal with us." Scar growled lowly.

"No." Honedge sat up, bringing himself to Scar's eye-level as he continued, "He could see that we were not the only ones with trust issues. Brandon and Paul have a similar problem. They had a bad fight and now they are forced to get along to earn Alex's trust. We are all... 'in the same boat,' as the saying goes. We are not being punished by this. Alex just wants to make sure his heart won't be broken again."

"...He told me a lot about his issues, how alike we are." Scar spoke, "His heart was broken very badly, and I doubt he trusts anyone, even his own pokemon."

"Then why did he tell you?" Scar shifted uncomfortably.

"He needed a way to convince me, I guess. But I could tell that he was putting his heart on the line to do it. It seems he finds pokemon easier to believe than humans if he doesn't trust them, at the very least."

"Then if we are to help him, we must put aside our own differences and learn to fight together." Honedge held out his tassel, "Are you willing to fight with me, beast?"

"If only for Alex, you single saber sword." Scar took the tassel in his claw and they shook in agreement.

**PokeSpeak End**

* * *

Brandon had been walking down the hall, back to his room, when he had heard it. At first he had thought it was just a sound of the night, but soon realized it wasn't and that it was coming from Alex's room. They boy had gone to bed early, so what was going on?

"Alex?" Opening the door, he was surprised to hear the boy whimpering in his sleep, tossing and turning. Even in the dim light of the hallway, Brandon could see the sheen of sweat on Alex's forehead.

 _A nightmare._ the man realized, going over to the teen. Why were his pokemon not out? Were they too deep into sleep that they didn't hear his cries? The elder shook the thought off as he began to try and calm Alex with words, the blond moving so much in the grips of the horrible dream that Brandon couldn't get close. It seemed to work, though, as the boy slowed enough to allow Brandon to come closer. The Frontier Brain took the child into his arms and rubbed his back, making more soothing noises. Alex grabbed Brandon's shirt, holding it so tightly his knuckles were white.

"Shh... It's okay, it's okay..." This went on for a long time. After at least an hour or more of soothing nothings, Alex was finally peaceful again. However, he didn't let go of Brandon, where the Pyramid King smiled. He wasn't thinking of leaving the boy alone anyway. They just laid on the bed, holding each other in different ways, one for comfort, one for desperation. Looking over, he wasn't surprised to see the Regis peeking in through the open door. They hadn't been with him because they had other stuff to do. He nodded to them, indicating things were fine. They seemed to hesitate a second, then closed the door, most likely staying to guard the outside of it. He smiled, glad of their consideration, and went back to laying with Alex.

However, when he let his hand trail over the blond's chest, planning to rub it to help soothe him, Brandon frowned. Something didn't feel right. Taking note that Alex seemed to be deep asleep, he pulled up the boy's nightshirt. He gasped at the sight of the bullet scar, eyes widening. The younger twitched at the sound and began to move, where Brandon made more soft sounds to calm him. Surprisingly it worked and Alex went back to sleep. Looking back down at the scar, the Frontier Brain wasn't sure he if he wanted to ask about it. If he did, it would show he had seen something he shouldn't and, with trying so much to gain Alex's trust, he didn't want to break the so little he had. So the Pyramid King put the shirt back down and went back to trying for sleep. But with the scar on his mind, he knew it was going to be a long time before he got any.

* * *

To say no one was wondering why the Regis were guarding Alex's door would have been a lie, but no one mentioned it. It was quite strange, especially how they continued to guard the room throughout the night. They didn't move from their post, not once, like silent sentinels dedicated to their job. Inside, however, as the sun was beginning to peek into the room, things began to change.

Alex awoke first, dreary from the best sleep he had had in a while. With the fog clouding his mind, he barely registered that he was holding onto something other than the bed or covers. He quickly went back to sleep, not wishing to wake up and face the day. It was also his movement that woke Brandon. The Frontier Brain was awake quickly, as he had to be during his travels outside the Pyramid, and laid still and silent as he waited for Alex to go back to sleep. Once he was sure, he gently and slowly moved away so as to not disturb the boy, then got up and returned to his room. The Regis followed when he had exited the room and they found Honedge inside Brandon's, where the Sword pokemon had slept for the night.

"Guys, we have another job to do today." the human said as he began to change clothes. He couldn't very well go out in the same clothes he had worn yesterday, now could he? "We have to get Alex to trust us even more than what we were planning. I found something last night, and I don't want to let the boy out of my sight. Understood?"

"Gi gi/Ho ho!" _(Yes sir!)_  The pokemon saluted him. He smiled at their enthusiasm.

"That's good." he tried to stifle an oncoming yawn unsuccessfully, causing the pokemon to glance at one another.

"Reg reg rock regiro re re rock?"  _(Are you sure you're up to this?)_  asked Regirock, "Reg rock rock ro regi regiro regi regigi rock rock."  _(You don't seem to have gotten much sleep last night.)_  Brandon waved off the pokemon's concerns.

"I'll be fine. Just a little tired than usual." he glanced at Honedge, "Could you hold off your feeding for a while? I'm sure you're hungry, but-"

"Ho honedgeho."  _(I understand.)_ the Steel-/Ghost-type nodded.

"Thank you." Suddenly his face contorted in pain and he stumbled. Regice reacted the quickest, grabbing him and helping him before he could hit the floor. Despite the freezing touch, Brandon was glad of the pokemon's help.

"Reg reg ice?"  _(Are you okay?)_ asked the pure Ice-type as the man steadied himself, or tried to. His legs were too weak to hold him up, so Registeel came to help bring him to the bed.

"Yeah, just..." Once he was sitting on his bed, he pulled one of his legs up using his hands to examine it. After the huge spark of pain, both legs had completely lost feeling and ability of movement. It wasn't the first time, either. Even Honedge, as new as he was, knew about it.

"Reg regi reg ste ste steelre?"  _(Why don't you go to a doctor?)_ Registeel asked.

"You know as well as I do that there's nothing to be done." Brandon's hand trailed over the bandages, "I was a fool, completely careless. And now, all these years later, I'm still paying the price." he gave a rueful smile, "No one would understand how much this hurts me, and yet I wish I could tell them." Honedge started at those words.

_He sounds like he and Alex would get along, but what are his scars? Despite my time with him, I have never seen them..._


	10. Rota Arc Pt. 4

After another day of training and watching others to see if they could be trusted, it was time for the tournament. As he was up first for the rookie section, Alex shifted uncomfortably.

"Cu bone?"  _(You okay?)_  asked Survivor, his only pokemon out.

"Anxious." Alex answered, "I hope Scar, Paul, Honedge, and Brandon can get along well enough to pass the Double Battles."

"Bone cu cucubone."  _(Those are tomorrow.)_  Each day had a different section. Today held the rookies, the single battles, and the rotation battles, tomorrow were the intermediates and double battles, the day after were the experts and the triple battles. Alex had only registered for the rookie section so he could see experience for himself. He was still quite new to this world, after all, and he didn't want to get ahead of himself.

"My trust is on the line." Alex looked at him, "Tomorrow will decide if they can be trusted and able to put aside their differences to be friends." he smiled, "Now let's show the rookies that we're the best of the best!"

"Cu!" Survivor climbed onto his shoulder and they could hear the introductions begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen," echoed Ilene's voice, "as you know, this is a tournament like any other, to compete trainers against trainers, to earn winnings and experience. However, that was not why it was created. A long time ago, a man named Sir Aaron sacrificed his life to stop a war that ravaged Rota, so my ancestor, Queen Rin, created this tournament in his honor. This version is more expansive to accommodate all sorts of different trainers, the first time we've ever done this. At the end, each champion of each section will become heroes of the year, like the old tournaments. They can also challenge each other for fun if they wish. Now that my speech is out of the way, let the tournament begin!" Cheers rose up from the crowd and Alex took that as his que to enter the arena.

"First up in the rookie section is Alex Rider and Baron Evran!" said an announcer, "Both will be using only one pokemon that must be under Lv. 20 and whoever wins will be moving on to the next part of the rookie section!" Alex eyed the cocky-looking boy across from him, who seemed to be about the same age. As Survivor was Lv. 23, he wouldn't be able to use the Ground-type, but that was okay. Illusion and Cerberus could hold their own pretty well, now that they were at pretty high levels, considering with how long they had been with the blond. Alex smiled as he thought back. How long had it been since he had begun his journey? Two weeks, he thought. Pretty impressive to have gotten this far in such a short time. He was brought back to the present as the referee appeared.

"There will be no time limit and items may be used to help win. Now, begin!"

"Go, Budew/Cerberus!" At the sight of the green, bud-like pokemon, Alex checked his PokeDex.

"Budew, the Bud Pokemon. Over the winter, it closes the bud on its head and endures the cold. In spring, when it feels the sun, the bud opens and releases pollen. The pollen is toxic and induces harsh sneezing and runny noses. It lives alongside clear pools." Alex knew he shouldn't feel too confident, but with the type matchup, he had the advantage.

"Water Sport!" Budew opened the bud on its head and water began to spew about, getting onto Cerberus, who panicked and ran around.

"Hound! Hound!"

"Cerberus, calm down!" Alex tried to reason with his pokemon. It was bad enough that Water Sport halved Cerberus' power, he didn't need the Dark-/Fire-type panicking too! Hearing his trainer's call, the Dark pokemon calmed as best he could with the field soaked and water all around him.

"Use Toxic!" Evran commanded. The bud once again opened, but instead of putting out water, it spewed out a purple sludge right into Cerberus' mouth. The Houndour coughed, trying to get rid of the very bitter sludge, and looked really sick.

"Toxic, unlike most other poisoning moves, gives the pokemon the badly poisoned status instead of the regular poisoned status." the announcer explained for the benefit of the audience, "After each turn, the poisoning will get worse, so let's hope Alex can find a way out of this mess!"

Alex's mind was flying as he thought about how to defeat the Budew. Though items could be used, he had no Antidotes and if the announcer was right, he didn't have much time to end the fight. Had a few Super Potions on him, but he doubted that would help Cerberus last long. And though Electric-type moves weren't very effective on Grass-types, the blond had the feeling that Water Sport made them more powerful and that would help bypass Cerberus' weakness. Might as well start doing things instead of thinking, because the longer time went on, the more poisoned Cerberus became.

"Use Smog!" Though Budew was a Grass-/Poison-type, Alex hoped the Poison-type attack would do a fair amount of damage. Cerberus coughed a little more before a dark purple haze exited his mouth. The blond was surprised at how fast it moved and, judging by how Budew was coughing, Toxic had apparently powered up Smog. This was a big help.

"Smog again!"

"Dodge it!" Budew hopped out of range of the poisonous gas.

"Get closer and use Smog again!" Cerberus did so but slipped on the muddy, wet ground.

"Mega Drain while it's down!" Budew clamped onto the Houndour's tiny tail and both glowed a soft green, the Bud pokemon draining some HP from the Dark-/Fire-type, but luckily not much. Alex grit his teeth as he tried to find a way to help Cerberus. Glancing down, he saw sparks dance across the field. Curious, he watched them as they traveled to Cerberus' mouth, where he was reminded of something Tracy had explained to him.

* * *

_"Certain moves can be bred into pokemon." the man explained, "Such as Houndour. When it hatches, the pokemon will already know moves that all Houndour know, but will also know any moves that were passed on from its parents, like Thunder Fang."_

_"Can the Egg Moves appear later?" the Brit asked._

_"No, not that I know of, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. After all, if one of the parents knew Thunder Fang but Houndour didn't learn it, the pokemon still has the potential to learn it later, but it's not likely."_

* * *

The blond blinked out of the memory and smiled, a new idea coming to him of how he could win the fight.

"Thunder Fang!" Because of Water Sport, the electricity that began shooting out of the Dark pokemon's fangs was energized. Cerberus bit onto Budew before it could get away and instead of causing only 1/2 damage, it caused full damage and shocked the Bud pokemon. Cerberus staggered to his feet and now both pokemon were panting. The next few moves would decide the fight.

"Use Smog and then Thunder Fang!" Cerberus put out the gas and as it surrounded Budew and blocked its vision, the Dark pokemon charged forward with sure footing, fangs sparking.

"Defend yourself with Venoshock!" Budew spat out a lighter sludge from its bud. Before Alex could command it, the Houndour dodged and bit Budew, shocking it once again. The Grass-/Poison-type fell over with swirly eyes.

"Budew is unable to battle! Alex and his Houndour win!" Budew was returned as Alex took Cerberus into his arms. The pokemon gave a weak bark of happiness as he buried his head into the boy's chest.

"Let's get you to the Pokemon Center, little guy." Alex returned him as Survivor climbed to the boy's shoulder. They then left the arena, but not before Alex caught sight of someone watching them. It was in the shadows, so he couldn't see much, but it was a man and a giant lion-like pokemon. Narrowing his eyes, the blond noted to learn who they were later, after Cerberus was healed.

* * *

"You're certain?"

"Lux." _(Yes.)_

"I know that giving away that Houndour egg was hurtful to you and that this one knows Thunder Fang, but that doesn't mean anything. It could be a different one."

"Lu ray, lux Lu ray lu ray."  _(I know, but I want to try.)_

"Suit yourself, but I'm coming with you. I doubt that kid would want a Luxray sniffing at his Houndour without knowing why."

* * *

Alex watched from the door as Cerberus was treated. A temporary Pokemon Center had been set up in the castle for the tournament and he was glad his pokemon was getting the care he needed.

"You're Alex, right?" The Brit glanced back to see a man coming down the hall with a black lion pokemon, the same ones, he had seen before. Frowning, Alex turned to face them. Survivor, who was still riding on the boy's shoulder, glowered.

"Yeah, I am. What do you want?" The blond man wore blue, black, and yellow clothes and the pokemon was not only black, with was also blue and yellow with red in the eyes. They complimented each other, in a way.

"Name's Volkner, from the Sunyshore Gym." the man said, "This is Luxray."

"Luxra." _(Hello.)_  the pokemon nodded to him before looking past him, into the room. Alex stiffened.

"If you think I'm letting you get past me-"

"We don't mean your Houndour any harm." Volkner cut him off, "Luxray just thinks that he might be the father, since your Houndour knows Thunder Fang." Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Really now. How is that supposed to convince me?"

"I knew I wouldn't be able to care for the egg, so I left it at Lavender Town with a man named Mr. Fuji." Seeing Alex's eyes widen, he knew he had gotten things right.

"...Fine." Alex stepped aside, where Luxray entered and instantly went over to Cerberus. He sniffed and licked his son, despite how the Dark-/Fire-type was asleep.

"...I wish..." the boy murmured as he watched, "I wish I had a father that did that to me." Though the words were quiet, Volkner caught them.

"What do you mean?"

"My dad's dead." Those three words gave enough info. Suddenly, there was an explosion in the room and a hole was created. Mechanical arms reached through and grabbed Luxray and Cerberus, along with any other pokemon in the room.

"What the-?!"

"Bobo!"  _(Alex!)_ Survivor was snatched off of the boy's shoulder before he could do anything and when the smoke cleared, a giant, rat-like pokemon-shaped balloon was on the other side. The pokemon were all trapped in a net beneath it, crying out for help. Many of them were small except for Luxray, who looked  _really_  mad.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"Oh don't tell me..." Volkner growled, facepalming. Alex gave him a questioning look until he saw the two Rockets and their pokemon.

"To infect the world with devastation!" said the woman.

"To blight all people in every nation!" said the man who, strangely, had green hair. Though Maylene had pink hair, so Alex wasn't surprised.

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"And Butch, of course!"

"We're Team Rocket, circling the Earth both day and night!"

"Surrender now or you will surely lose the fight!"

"Raticate!" said the pokemon in the basket with them. The Brit's eyes grew hard at the mention of Team Rocket.

"Go, Illusion!"

"Zo!" The Zorua jumped out of his ball and growled threateningly at the Rockets.

"Really?" snickered Cassidy, "You think  _that_  little thing is going to beat us?"

"You know what to do." Illusion nodded at Alex's words and his eyes began to glow bright blue. Stone hands came out of the walls and tried to grab the balloon, scaring the Rockets.

"Let's get out of here!" said Butch. An engine attached to the basket activated, allowing the balloon to fly away, out of Illusion's range. And on the wind, the boy thought he could hear these words:

"We'll catch the kid later." What did that mean? Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"ZO ZORU RUA!"  _(GET BACK HERE!)_  yelled Illusion, running to the edge of the hole. He stopped when a dark-colored dot flashed by, going after the balloon. It was Scar.

"Ly starly!" _(I'm coming!)_  Scar shouted to Luxray, which also attracted the attention of the bad guys.

"Oh come on!" Cassidy turned to Butch, "Can't this thing go any faster?!"

"It's going as fast as it can!"

"Then make it go faster!" Grabbing a joystick remote, she began moving the two metal arms on the sides of the basket, trying to hit Scar out of the sky. He managed to dodge, but it slowed him down. Irritated, he kept trying, always unsuccessful with the arms in his way.

"Star star!" _(Take that!)_ Having enough, Scar's wings became coated in metal and he bashed the arms with Steel Wing. Wrecking them to the point they were out of commission, he flew forward, but now the balloon was too fast for him to catch, even with Quick Attack.

"Ra ra ra ra ra!" _(Na na na na na!)_ Raticate stuck its tongue out at the Starling pokemon, laughing.

 _I can't let them get away!_ Scar thought, pushing himself as hard as he could,  _There's no telling what they would do to those pokemon! They did nothing wrong, just like me..._

"Lyyyyyy!" A surge of power filled the Normal-/Flying-type, covering him in blue energy as he transformed. He grew bigger, his curl, beak, wings, and tailfeathers got longer, and his feet grew stronger. The scar still covered his eye, even after the evolution into his new form, Staravia. He had been able to evolve for a while but hadn't wanted to until now.

"Ravia!" Now with stronger wings, Scar was able to go faster and quickly catch up.

"Cate!" Raticate tried to use Bite when Scar came close, but missed and nearly fell out of the basket. Noting how high the balloon was, Scar decided to make it go down a little. With a few flaps, he latched his claws into the fabric of the balloon.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" screamed the Rockets. With a grin, Scar tightened his grip, cutting holes. Blowout was immediate, causing the balloon to fall slowly. Scar darted to the net to see Luxray had knawed a hole in it and was now jumping out, all of the pokemon riding him while he held Cerberus in his mouth. They landed safely in the trees and Scar flew over them to help mark progress if anyone came looking for them. There was no need as Luxray began running through the branches back to Rota. They had gone quite the distance in such a short time, but at least they weren't too far away.

* * *

The humans watched from a distance as Scar evolved and saved the pokemon, where Alex began feeling proud of the Starling pokemon. Had he ever felt proud before? If he had, it had been a long time.

"Impressive." Volkner noted, "I wonder who's pokemon that is."

"Mine." The blond man gave him a glance.

"Then why wasn't it with you?"

"I have my reasons."

"Zoru?" _(Alex?)_  Illusion pawed at the cuff of his pants, "Ruru zoru zo rua?"  _(Will they be okay?)_ Alex picked him up.

"They'll be fine." he rubbed the Zorua's head to calm him.

"I thought that Cubone was your first pokemon." Alex looked at Volkner.

"What do you mean?"

"People can understand their first pokemon after they've been with them a long time, but not other pokemon."

"...Well, I can understand them all." he met the man's eyes, "I can understand them even if they aren't mine, even if we've just met. I've only known my pokemon for two weeks and I can understand as if they were speaking English."

"Then maybe you should meet Anabel. She can mentally talk with pokemon and is a Frontier Brain, like Brandon. Do you know him?"

"Yeah, he's here too, if you haven't noticed." Alex moved his gaze to the door of the room, "He and another guy are using my pokemon for the Double Battles, including the Staravia. I wonder where they are. They must have been watching, how else would Staravia have been able to go after the Rockets so quickly?" Alex was careful with his words, trying not to give too much info. He barely knew Volkner, after all. The blond man was quiet, watching as Luxray, Scar, and the other pokemon returned to the castle. As people went outside to get their pokemon, Survivor and Cerberus (who was now awake) rode Scar back to Alex. The smaller pokemon were greeted by Illusion happily while Scar just stood there, shifting uncomfortably. Alex walked over to him and gently ran fingers through his feathers in assurance.

"I know you feel like you don't belong," the boy whispered, "but you were great out there. It takes courage to change who you are for anything, even to save others." Scar gave him a look of surprise before smiling. It was hard to believe that he was already trusting the blond boy, but it was the truth. Upon seeing the door open, however, he looked past Alex. Feeling a sort of déjà vu, he followed the pokemon's gaze to see Brandon, Honedge, and Paul there. The plumhead was looking a little mad as Brandon and Honedge gave him glares. Scar fluffed his feathers a little and looked Paul in the eyes with a hard stare. Obviously, something had happened before the Rockets came along. Giving a glance to Volkner, who looked curious, Alex sighed.

"My room. Now." Most everyone followed the boy when he left except the blond man, as he could tell that he wasn't going to be welcomed. And as soon as Alex closed the door, he turned to them and crossed his arms.

"Talk." he commanded, a look in his eyes similar to the one at the end of the fight with Lucario.

"Paul wasn't planning to use Scar at all in the Double Battles." Brandon began.

"I've seen the other people in the Double Battles. We would have been crushed!"

"That doesn't mean we can't keep our promises."

"Of course it does! Did you want to be defeated?!"

"No, but-!"

"Enough!" Alex's voice managed to cut through, interrupting them. He turned to Paul, "I thought you two were getting along."

"We were, if only slightly." the elder teen muttered.

"And why did you think Scar was too weak to give you a chance to win?"

"He was a  _Starly_. Starlys aren't strong, not when they're alone."

"You judge everything by how it looks, don't you?" Alex sighed, "If I'm going to trust you, then I need to know you won't do something like this. Judging by how something looks will kill you pretty quickly, even if you're strong. You always underestimate things, so you  _will_  be destroyed before you can get your feet on the ground. It's that simple." The blond met his eyes, "If you won't take Scar in, I will like I had before this plan came to mind."

"Hone Ho edge ed hone hone." _(Then I wish to join you.)_  Honedge floated forward slightly.

"Do you want to continue to prove yourself, that you're able to keep calm with Scar around?" he asked. The Sword pokemon paused.

"...Hon ededge." _(...Not quite.)_ Alex observed him carefully before nodding.

"Alright." he picked up the pokemon. Before anyone could say anything, he continued, "Trust is something very important to me. If you can't take care of Scar for just a few days, then I can't trust you. If you want my trust, which I'm sure you do, then show me you can be trusted."

"Then what will it take?" Paul asked, glaring.

"You figure it out." Alex's reply was sharp as he left, his pokemon following like loyal Growlithes. Brandon made no comment, watching as Paul simmered for a few more moments before he sighed, seeming to cool off.

"Well, aren't you going to say it?"

"Say what?"

"That I let my emotions get the best of me? That I still need to get better?" Paul looked away, "Why did I ever think I could try and get close to that kid?" Brandon's eyes softened.

"He needs help, even if he says he doesn't. You were only trying to help. I assume you know he has nightmares?" Hesitantly, the plumhead gave a nod, "A few nights ago I came across him while he was having one. I want to help him too."

"And  _how_  are we supposed to do  _that_?"

"Earning his trust seems to be a big factor. And I think I know how you can get back on his good side." Paul gave him a questioning look.

"What do you mean?"

"Sharing secrets helps with trust because it shows how much you trust the person. You could share one with him, so he might share one with you. It would help with both your trust issues, at the very least." The Veilstone native snorted.

"No way. He'd never fall for that."

"You have a better idea?"

"...No."

"Then go do it." Brandon left before Paul could question him more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. My headcanon is that it's possible for a pokemon to still learn a move one of its parents knew later on after its birth, such as Thunder Fang Luxray can learn Thunder Fang but Hourdour can't, not unless the move was bred into it, but Cerberus didn't immediately know it when he was born. However, he was able to learn the move later because he had Thunder Fang genes in him. Do you get what I'm saying?
> 
> 2\. Water Sport usually doesn't muddy up the battlefield (I don't think) but I changed it so that it could work in the story.
> 
> 3\. Starlys evolve at Lv. 14 but Scar was at Lv. 15. He didn't want to evolve until he got a reason for it, which happened here.
> 
> 4\. There are different categories for the tournament. There are the different levels of trainers (rookie, intermediate, expert) and the different types of battles (single, double, triple, rotation). Two totally different things, see? Like, for example, experts can register for triple battles and be put up against any level of trainer, but they must obey the rules of the battle. The trainer levels mostly stick to either single or double battles, depending on how many pokemon you have. It's like a slight mix of the games and anime, but mostly the games. It's also confusing, but I think it works.


	11. Rota Arc Pt. 5

After the small interruption and everyone getting their pokemon back, the tournament continued on. Alex looked down upon the arena from a window, watching as it progressed. His pokemon were still beside him, more focused on their master than the battles below.

"Bone bocu?"  _(What's wrong?)_  Survivor stepped in front of Alex, breaking his sightless gaze towards the battles. The pure Ground-type crossed his tiny arms, waiting for an answer.

"It's nothing." the blond sighed.

"'Zoruazo' zoru rua ru rua  _zoruazo_."  _('Nothing' with you is not_ nothing _.)_  Illusion growled, making quotation marks around the first word. Alex snorted, smiling.

"You guys are pretty perceptive, you know that? As for what's going on... I thought I could trust him."

"Hou hou, dou hou dour houndo hound."  _(You can, but not with certain things.)_  Cerberus said, "Hound ho dou do hound dourho. Ho houndour dourho, houn hou houn dour dour houn houndour dourhound."  _(Think of him as being clumsy. If someone's clumsy, then you don't trust them with anything breakable.)_  The Brit raised an eyebrow at the Dark pokemon.

"You're saying such wise things, even though you've been alive for just a week." The Houndour gave a cheeky grin.

"Hon edge edge."  _(He's still right.)_  Knight (previously Honedge until Alex caught him a few minutes ago) spoke up, "Hoho hon ed honedge, edge hon edge honehone."  _(Paul can be trusted, just not with pokemon.)_

"I suppose..." Lifting Survivor so that the Cubone was sitting on his shoulder once again, Alex went back to watching the battles. The rookie battles were cool and all, but what interested him were the Single Battles. Three-on-three, they gave him a look at some of the more powerful trainers, including Volkner, who practically swept his opponent with his pokemon, one of which was Luxray. But at such a distance, Alex knew he wouldn't be able to scan the pokemon and learn more about it. And upon thinking that, he was reminded of the Rocket attack, with the rat-like pokemon they had and the balloon that resembled it.

"They said something about catching me, didn't they?" Alex murmured to himself, which his pokemon heard, "But what do the Rockets want with me?"

"Ravia star star ra sta rav rav ra sta sta."  _(Maybe they want to get you_   _out of the way.)_  Scar suggested.

"Yeah, but why?" Alex turned his gaze upward, where the sun was setting and stars began to appear, "What are they planning? They killed Survivor's mother, tried stealing fossils and pokemon, and are now after me, so what next?"

"Hone ho edge honedge hone hoedge hone hohoge hon edge!"  _(Then we must destroy them before they ravage the land!)_ Knight cried. The others gave noises of agreement, Survivor's the most enthused of all.

"But where do we begin? I doubt they left anything behind at any place, so do we just wait for them to make their next move?"

"Ravia star ra staraviavia."  _(They'll turn up eventually.)_  Scar assured, "Ar sta staravia sta star."  _(We get stronger and wait.)_

"Right." Alex nodded. However, he could feel the prick of eyes watching him, but said nothing. He didn't want to worry his pokemon more than they already were.

* * *

Yasha and Ore didn't mean to intrude upon a meeting between professors, but they had no choice when a blue frog with a pale yellow, bubbly scarf and an orange chimp with fire for a tail started chasing each other around the human's legs. Yasha was tempted to kick them away in case they were dangerous, but didn't dare if they belonged to a trainer. He didn't need to botch up his first attempts at being normal, he  _really_  didn't. Ore tilted his head curiously at the two before struggling out of Yasha's arms, falling to the ground with a heavy thud, and asking what the two were doing.

"Chi chicha ar chim ar!" _(She's trying to kill me!)_  cried the chimp, scrambling up Yasha to get away from the frog.

"Ie froakie ie froak ki ki oakie froa ie froa ki kie kie froak!"  _(He thought it would be a great joke to push me off the table!)_  growled the frog.

"Aron aro ron arona?"  _(Can't you get along?)_  Ore asked.

"AR/KI!"  _(NO!)_  The Aron was knocked over by the force of the answer. He blinked when he found himself on his back and tried to unsuccessful get back on his feet. Feeling the urge to roll his eyes but not giving in to it, Yasha used a foot to roll Ore on his stomach so he could get up.

"Froakie, Chimchar!" They all looked up at the call to see three men come towards them, all wearing labcoats. One looked distinctly French (Yasha could tell from experience), one was quite old and yet held himself the sternest out of the three, while the last was younger with brown hair. The blond guessed they were professors, after what he had heard and from the fact they were in a field not far from the lab, but shouldn't there only be one?

"Thanks for stopping the pokemon before they could get too far!" said the brown-haired man with a sheepish grin, "I thought we were going to have another Rowan Incident on our hands!" The eldest gave him a harsh glare.

"DROP IT." he rumbled in an angry growl.

"Hello there." the Frenchman held out a hand, "My name is Prof. Sycamore and these are my colleagues, Birch and Rowan." Yasha raised an eyebrow at the tree-related names, but said nothing of it as he shook the man's hand.

"My name is Yasha. I was...happy to help catch them. However, I came here for a reason. I wish to be a trainer, if you will allow it." The professors shared surprised glances.

"Well, I can arrange that." said the brown-haired man, who Yasha presumed was Birch, "If you'll please come to my lab, we can get started."

"Okay." the Russian nodded and began to follow, but the chimp and frog would not leave his side or shoulder, no matter how much he tried to tug them off. Ore snickered as he sluggishly followed his partner.

"It seems they like you, as unprecidented as it is." Rowan noted as they walked.

"Yes, but I do not know why." He tried tugging the chimp off again, but to no avail.

"Why don't you take them with you as your pokemon?" Sycamore suggested. Yasha blinked, Ore choked on his snickers, and the chimp and frog gave the blond hopeful looks. Seeing them, the blond man sighed.

"I suppose it would not hurt..."

"Chi/Fro!" _(Yes!)_  they cried before glaring at one another, or at least the frog did. The chimp cowered at the gaze as Ore sounded indignant.

"On! Aronon ronaron ro aron arona arona!"  _(No! They'll destroy us with their anger!)_  Yasha gave him an unimpressed look. He was used to Ore's strangeness by now.

"Is there a reason these two do not like each other?" the blond asked.

"Many reasons." Birch sighed, "Chimchar acts like a clown while Froakie doesn't take anything thrown at her. She  _really_  doesn't like anything he does."

"Kie froak?" _(You think?)_  hissed the frog.

"Chi!"  _(Eep!)_  the chimp hid behind Yasha's head.

* * *

Soon enough Yasha had gotten registered as a trainer, had his own PokeDex, named both of his new pokemon (after learning of their final evolved forms, Infernape and Greninja), and was just about to leave when Sycamore met him outside.

"Before you leave, I want to give you this." he held out a silver, velvet-feeling pouch with a rainbow-colored drawstring, "I have the feeling you can make good use out of what's in here, which can only be used by Ore. However, he can only use it when he becomes an Aggron and you both learn to trust one another completely." As Yasha took the pouch and tucked it into his large green bag, the Frenchman met the blond's eyes, "Rowan and Birch might not be able to tell, but I have the feeling you're not from anywhere in the Pokemon World. There must be a reason why you're here, so I suggest going to one of two regions for answers: Johto or Sinnoh. They're the most history-oriented regions, focusing more on the history and legends of the place than on a single topic, like how Kalos is all about Mega Evolution and so on."

"...Thank you, Sycamore." Yasha was surprised that the black-haired man saw through him so easily, "But what about all the other aspects of this world?"

"Let the pokemon guide you. Crown and Ninja, as you've dubbed them, have lived in labs all their lives and know a thing or two about humans and how things work. I'm assuming Ore does too, but more on the wild side, so if you need anything, just ask them for guidance." Sycamore shook his hand, "Good luck on your journey." The Russian gave a smiled, nodded, and left. He had been so certain he wouldn't be able to find a true friend here, but he supposed that Sycamore could be an exception.

"Arona A aron a ronar?"  _(Could I have a snack?)_  Ore asked just as his tummy rumbled. Crown and Ninja, (the Chimchar and Froakie, respectively) rested on the man's shoulders, avoiding at looking at one another, while Ore rested in the blond's arms.

"No." Yasha's response was quick and blunt, making the Iron Armor pokemon whine. Sycamore shook his head upon hearing the conversation despite the increasing distance, not quite sure what he had gotten himself into by meeting the blond man.

* * *

"Nice haul we've got here, eh?" said the Alex-lookalike. He and his pokemon were hiding out at Chargestone Cave, which they had claimed as their base and drove out anyone who entered.

"Mach cho, Choma?"  _(What now, Boss?)_ asked the Machop. He, Blade, and the Gible were the boy's only pokemon at the moment, and he was hasty to start up some more trouble.

"We've got to find a way to sell all of this stuff and lay low until the heat is off." the blond said, "Fight with Blade if you get too hyped up." Around them, in the small mini-cavern, were fossils, paintings, and various pokeballs stuffed with pokemon, but tied closed with rope. There was also a strange black stone which had been stolen only because the boy felt a strange attachment to it.

"Gib ble gi gible le le gi?"  _(How are we going to do it?)_ Gible spoke up.

"I need to contact a few buyers, of course, but I'm not sure how." As it was, the boy had stolen a PokeDex, making him an official trainer, pokeballs for his pokemon so they wouldn't be wild anymore, and a blue Pokegear (which he had no idea how to use). There was no way for the authorities to strip him of his trainer status unless they somehow got their hands on the PokeDex.

"Pawn Pawniard Ia, pawni."  _(Find Hunter J, dumbo.)_ said Blade, who was leaning against a wall, "Pawn pawn Iardpa paw pawni pawniard ard ard pawn, pawniard iard pa nia Pawni Niard. Ard pawni pawniard ard paw pa ard pawniard nia pawni iard pa nia."  _(She's from Sinnoh and takes pokemon all the time, selling them on the Black Market. She could probably get you a few contacts and maybe even a job.)_

"Maybe." the blond agreed, is slowly, "But how are we supposed to leave this stuff alone or, worse, take it with us to Sinnoh?"

"Pa pawn iard niar pa nia. Ia pawnia pa!"  _(I'm sure we'll find a way. We always do!)_  the Pawniard rubbed his blades together in glee.

* * *

**PokeSpeak:**

As Alex and his pokemon fell asleep, Scar watched from the rafters above. It was hard for him to fall asleep with everything that happened that day. How could such a boy give him the power to evolve and learn to trust again? To the Staravia, it was mind-blowing. He straightened up when the subtle click of a pokeball was heard before a pokeball opened on Alex's belt. Said belt was hanging on the wall and the pokeball was camouflaged, both sides colored black with a red band around it. And what came out of the pokeball was something the Normal-/Flying-type wasn't expecting.

"What the h*ll?!" Scar flapped into the air when a gigantic bird pokemon appeared on the rafters with him.

"Not so loud!" it hissed, "And I mean you no harm."

"How am I supposed to believe that?!" Scar lowered his voice so he wouldn't wake Alex.

"My pokeball was among his, was it not?"

"That doesn't give me any reason to trust you!"

"Ask you friends, then. They can tell you that I mean no harm, that I am here to protect Alex."

"...I don't find that hard to believe, actually." Scar landed back on his rafter, "Talk."

"I have no need to tell you my name because you know what I am, who I am. All pokemon do. However, you may call me Red for now. If Alex learns of my existence too soon, it may be the end of everything as we know it." Scar gave Red a hard stare as it continued, "As for how I am here, I simply do not know. It does relate to a legend between many Legendaries, though."

"How many?"

"Most of the trios, really. I am here to protect the Child of Death while the rest of my trio are to protect his opposites, the Child of Life and the Man of Order. Each of them will befriend more Legendaries as they journey, but not all of them have good purposes."

"And how old is this legend?" Scar kneaded the rafter with his talons in anxiety.

"As old as Arceus himself."

"Why is it such a bad thing if Alex knows of you too soon?"

"..." Red was silent, "...It is part of the legend, but part of it is also from my own fears." the bird turned away, "I am afraid of what he will think of me. He has gone through much, all of it I know well, and I do not think he would take kindly to someone like me."

"He's been kind to the rest of us, he hasn't judged us." Scar spoke, "If you earn his trust, he'll give you a chance. He won't think of you as good or evil, even with your history, until he truly knows you. He gave me a second chance, even after all the hurt I had caused to this town, because he saw himself in me and wanted to change that. So, before you beat yourself up, allow yourself a chance with Alex." There was no answer and as the night wore on, Scar relaxed and allowed himself to sleep with Red watching over them all.

He didn't see Red as a threat now. If the bird was there to keep Alex safe, then that was fine with him. He knew he had trust issues, but if he didn't start trusting someone besides Alex, then who could he trust?

**PokeSpeak End**

* * *

When they awoke, Alex took some time to feed Knight. When Scar looked around, though, Red was nowhere in sight. Had it just been a dream? Looking at the belt with his sharp eyes, he could make out the almost invisible red line of Red's pokeball. It hadn't been a dream after all.

"Scar?" The Staravia looked down at the call to see Alex at the door, a weary look on his features from the feeding, "You coming?" His pokemon were around him, also looking at Scar. Nodding, he flapped his wings and descended to his partner's side. He would ask the others about Red later because for now, his only priority was Alex.

As they walked, the boy felt eyes on him again, the same ones as yesterday. This time he stopped and turned to see a pale green-haired man at the end of the hall. Their eyes met and the man left. Alex had the feeling he knew something but didn't go after him. Since the tournament was going on, there was a chance to see the man again.

"Zoruarua zorua?"  _(Something wrong?)_ The pokemon hadn't seen the man.

"No." Alex searched the end of the hall one more time before continuing on his way to breakfast. It was busy in the hall, with all the new trainers getting food as well. The blond's eyes searched the crowd for people he recognized but saw no one. Getting his food and some for his partners, he went back to his room so they could eat in peace. Once that was over and done with, they returned the dishes to the cooks and went back to the window they were at before to watch the tournament. Since it was breakfast, almost no one was out on the field, leaving it to be quite dull.

"...You don't suppose we could go get my weapon and be back in time for the tournament, do you?" Alex mused aloud, "Or would the blacksmith be gone to see all of this?"

"Cub bone?"  _(Who knows?)_ Survivor shrugged. And though the Cubone's 'cub' sounded like 'cube,' it still reminded the boy of his past when he had the name. A slight shiver wracked his frame before he nodded.

"Then let's go." His pokemon shared worried glances but followed diligently.

* * *

On the way there, getting the staff (which was steel and could fold for easier carrying), and on the way back, Alex saw the pale green-haired man again. It was always at a distance, as if the man was observing him, and the Brit made a note to chase after the man next time he saw him. If he was spying on Alex, he was going to get a  _big_  surprise... There was no need to, however, because as soon as the boy and his pokemon returned to their post, the man came up to them. He had gray eyes, wore a gray and black cap, white, gray, and black clothing, green, black, and white shoes, some yellow square-shaped bracelets on one wrist, a necklace with a black and blue pendant, and from his belt hung a golden square attached to a chain. Despite the suspicious looks he got, he sent back a kind smile.

"Sorry to not come up to you earlier." he spoke quickly, where Alex barely understood, "But having such a strange accumulation of friends had me interested." he held out a hand, "My name is Natural Harmonia Gropius, but you may call me N if you wish."

 _Gropius... That was the last name of the guy who built the Bauhaus, wasn't it?_ Looking N over, Alex saw that many things about him screamed geometrical and he was inclined to believe it. He took the man's hand, feeling no animosity or underlying feelings. The man was just trying to be kind, he supposed.

"Alex Rider. Nice to meet you. So, you like math?" N's eyes lit up.

"Very much! Math is quite amazing in all of it's forms! Probability, shapes, theories, it's wonderful!" Alex gave a smile.

"Glad you like it. I'm not really a math person myself." the blond gently rubbed the head of Survivor, "So you think these guys are my friends?"

"Don't you?" N gave him a frown.

"I have...trust issues."

"Pokemon are friends to everyone." N spoke, "You should never think of them otherwise. I grew up with some, actually, and I've always seen them that way."

"Must have been nice. Were you orphaned?"

"I was abandoned and they took me in. What about you?"

"Sort of. My parents died when I was very young, so I was taken in by my uncle."

"That must have been very sad when you found out."

"Not really." Alex sighed, "What is there to be sad about when you never knew them?"

"Bone cub bone!"  _(Don't say that!)_ Survivor growled, "Cubo cu cub bone bone cucu, cubo bonecu bone bo  _cubonecu_  bone cubo bone!" _(Even if you didn't know them, that doesn't mean you_ shouldn't _care about them!)_  Alex looked at him, then gave a smile.

"You're right, I'm sorry. You knew your mother before she was killed, after all. I have no right to judge." N's face gave a shocked look.

"His mother is dead?" Alex nodded.

"Yeah, thanks to Team Rocket." he said as he thought back, "I wasn't there when it happened, but they wanted something and killed Marowak while she was defending Survivor. When I came along, she was haunting Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town and Team Rocket was back. They used her ghost's presence to scare people into not going outside while they conducted their plans. Mr. Fuji, however, wasn't fooled and went to the tower to stop them. His granddaughter, Reina, hadn't seen him for hours when I came, so I went with her to save him. Survivor came with us, too, and we fought Team Rocket together and defeated them, calming his mother's ghost in the process." he rubbed Survivor's head again, "She asked me to take care of her son, and I promised I would. Both of us are orphans and we understand each other, whether we like it or not." As the rest of his team hadn't heard the full story, this was also news to them.

"No wonder you two have a strong connection. May I?" N held out his hand, as if to pet the Cubone. Survivor nodded and Alex took his hand away, allowing N to do so, "And it seems you can hear their voices, too."

"What do you mean?" N looked at him.

"You aren't deaf to their cries because you understand what they say. Many can't hear their pokemon except for one, their first partner, and even then, sometimes, they don't understand them at all. Alex, you are an exception, just like me. You can hear them and answer them, you don't ignore what they say." Alex narrowed his eyes.

"What do you know? I could have been with Survivor for years and no one would know."

"You were in the rookie section. Doesn't that mean you're a beginning trainer?"

"Not always. Like I said, I could have had Survivor and these guys for years and never battled with them until now."

"Battles are always the thing that I don't like and you may not, either." N said suddenly, "When you can hear their words, you also hear their emotions. You hear their pain when they've been poisoned or burned, you force them to fight when they don't want to because of your choice. If you can hear them, why do you do it?"

"...N, lots of people know how their pokemon feel. Emotions can be expressed in other ways besides words. And some pokemon choose to fight because they like it or because they want to make their friends happy. Only bad people like Team Rocket hurt pokemon and force them to fight like how you described. Not everyone is the same, after all." Alex rubbed the scar on the back of his left hand, "I should know. People can be cruel to each other, too." N looked at the younger's hand to see a thin, straight line marked on it. He didn't ask, but had an idea.

"Alex, I want to give you something." he took the cube and chain off of his belt and held it in his hands. Through the holes the boy could see a strange white stone inside. After fiddling with the cube for a few moments, N took the top off and held out the cube.

"Take it." he urged, "I believe this will do you more good than I." Giving the elder a skeptical look, Alex reached and took the stone. As soon as he touched it, he felt a weight lift off of his shoulders, though there had been none.

"What is it?" the blond asked as the green-haired man fixed his cube.

"It's called the Light Stone. Keep it with you and it will help you see the truth."

"And how can it do that?"

"You will see. Now I shall take my leave. It was nice to meet you, Alex!" He waved goodbye and soon Alex was left alone with his pokemon again.

"The Light Stone, huh?" the boy turned it in his hands, examining its surface, "I wonder if it really does all that N said it would. And he was a strange guy, wasn't he? But he wasn't bad, so I suppose there's nothing to worry about. Doesn't mean I can't help but worry, though."


	12. Rota Arc Pt. 6

After putting the Light Stone away, Alex and his pokemon looked back at the stadium, where the intermediates and double battles were about to start. More announcements were made and the first battle was a double battle. From what the boy knew, double, triple, and even rotation battles (though it was quite rare with the latter) could be fought two ways: The first was a single trainer with the number of pokemon needed for the battle; the second was the same in the pokemon sense, but there could be more than one trainer. In the case of the double and triple battle portions, the second option was being used. As it was, the first fight was a double battle between Brandon and Paul (who hadn't backed out on their promise to Alex) and Volkner and- The Brit froze at the sight of the woman beside the electric-type user.

 _No, it can't be-!_ Despite the distance he was at and the announcer saying her name, Alex felt there was no mistaking the woman and took off. His pokemon gave sounds of surprise before running after him as fast as they could, the smallest taking a ride on Scar while Knight floated quickly behind. They had no idea what set the boy off, but they couldn't let him out of their sight. He was their responsibility, after all, just like how they were to him, and they cared for him. If he was ever hurt when they weren't there... Perish the thought!

They followed him down through the castle and across the grounds until he finally stopped in the shadows of a doorway, watching the woman as she and Volkner fought against Paul and Brandon. It was Torterra and the Steel Regi against a giant orange mouse with a long lightning bolt-tipped tail and a purple, ten-pointed star with a large red jewel in the middle. Alex's pokemon followed their master's gaze to the woman, seeing she was a redhead with her hair in a side ponytail with green-blue eyes. They had no idea why Alex was so interested in her, but there had to have been a reason, right?

"Bulldoze!" Brandon commanded, making the first move. Steel jumped into the air as Volkner and the woman made their move.

"Raichu, on Starmie's back!"

"Use Hydro Pump on the ground so you won't have to land!" As the ground shook at Steel's landing and Torterra flinched from damage, the giant mouse was on the purple star's back as it spewed water from its jewel, away from the potentially K.O.'ing move. Both had received no damage thanks to their trainer's quick thinking, though Torterra wasn't so lucky. At least, being part Grass-type, he wasn't hurt too much.

"Brick Break!" Volkner commanded. The mouse leapt off and used the star as leverage to shoot forward, towards Steel. One of its forepaws began to glow orange-red, like Survivor's club did when using the move.

"Flash Cannon!" Steel summoned a ball of black and white energy and fired it just as the mouse reached it, blocking the attack and hurting the mouse, though not much. It skidded to a stop beside the star and shook itself, as if to get rid of the pain from the attack.

"Giga Drain!" Torterra opened his mouth, summoning a ball of light green energy before shooting out a beam of it towards the star.

"Block it with Ice Beam!" The star brought down an arm and shot a beam of light blue, almost white energy that met the Giga Drain. They were unable to overpower the other, so both attacks dissipated. However, none of the battle was attracting the attention of Alex. His eyes were only for the redhead, watching her in numb shock. He didn't even respond as Survivor or any of his pokemon tried to talk to him, tug on his pants, getting in his sightline, nothing. This worried them quite a bit.

* * *

**PokeSpeak:**

*poke* *poke* *poke* "Wow, he's really out of it." Survivor commented after poking Alex in the shoulder with the pointed end of his club. Cerberus took a more direct approach and licked Alex's ear. Still nothing.

"Bleh! Does he ever wash his ears?!" Cerberus tried rubbing the taste off of his tongue, much to Illusion's amusement.

"TAKE THAT YOU OVER-SIZED TURTLE TANK!" the mouse shouted as the star hit Torterra with a supereffective Ice Beam. Scar's eyes lit up as he had a thought.

"Wait, didn't you say this sort of happened to Alex before, back at the Pewter Gym?" Illusion and Survivor shared a glance as Cerberus fell off Alex's shoulder in trying to rub the taste off.

"Yeah, he zoned out when Graveler used Self-Destruct. Why?" Illusion asked.

"Did he mention what he zoned out about?"

"The explosion brought up bad memories." Survivor glanced to Alex, "You think Alex might be having memories now?" Scar nodded.

"But before, he managed to snap out of it. Why isn't he doing that now?" Cerberus argued once his tongue was better.

"His memories may be so powerful that he cannot leave them easily." Knight suggested, "Hopefully, at the end of the fight, he will return to normal. But my question is, what is it about the woman named Misty that interests him so?" The others gave shrugs.

"We have no idea." Illusion said, "I only hope he snaps out of this soon..."

**PokeSpeak End**

* * *

The battle went on until, finally, Steel won over the star after both Torterra and the mouse were out. That meant Brandon and Paul had won, to which they smiled as the praise of cheers rained down. Before Brandon could return Steel, however, the pokemon made a comment as it gestured to the side.

"Ste ste Regi?" _(Isn't that Alex?)_ Brandon looked over to see that Steel was right. Alex was still watching Misty, turning his head as she left the stadium with Volkner before he finally snapped out of his daze.

"It was her." he murmured, where only his pokemon heard, "It has to be."

"Hon?"  _(Who?)_  Knight asked. Alex didn't answer, leaving the arena and following Misty.

"C'mon." Brandon grabbed Paul's arm after returning Steel and quickly walked after Alex.

"What are you doing?!"

"Quiet! And look!" he pointed at Alex and Paul quickly understood.

"We're following him?"

"He seems interested in Misty and this may be your chance to get back on Alex's good side."

"You don't have to drag me!" the plumhead hissed. Brandon let go where Paul rubbed his arm, but both were still following Alex. The boy's pokemon looked back to see them following, narrowing their eyes in response, but did nothing to stop the males. If they didn't stop Alex, why should they do the same to the two men who were trying to befriend their master? Volkner noticed Alex following them and made a sign to Misty to stop, both looking back and causing Alex to freeze. He wasn't ready to talk to her yet, not after so long and such heartbreak-

"Nice to see you again, kid." the blond man began as he and Misty went over the the young Brit, "This is Misty, the Water-type Gym Leader from Cerulean."

"Hi!" Misty held out her hand. Alex glanced down at it, back up at her, then took it, if a bit slowly.

"I'm Alex." he quickly dropped her hand, "Do you... Do you know the name Jack Starbright?" Both adults blinked at the question.

"Um, no, and the name isn't familiar-"

"Thanks." Alex ducked his head and left them, leaving not only them but also his pokemon, Brandon, and Paul completely confused. Survivor and the others once again ran to catch up while the humans were still in their places, staring after Alex.

"Jack Starbright?" Brandon asked himself quietly. Paul shrugged slightly, not understanding either.

"Maybe if we go after him we can find out." This time the plumhead was dragging the Pyramid King with him, the other way around from last time.

* * *

As soon as Alex was sure he was out of sight from Misty and Volkner, he broke into a run. How could he have been so stupid? Jack was dead, he had seen it for himself... But Misty's great similarity to Jack was creepy bordering on disturbing. He had been so sure, with the short red hair, the green-blue eyes, the age she showed, and even her personality was all the same as Jack. But the name had meant nothing. Not a spark of recognition at him or the name. Misty wasn't Jack, no matter how much they looked alike. And since Cerulean was next on his list of gyms to battle, it was going to be hard to fight her because it would be like fighting Jack.

His pokemon were forced to come to a halt when they had the door to Alex's room slammed in their faces. On the other side they could hear crying and saddened. Pointing to a nearby window, Scar understood Survivor's intentions and allowed the pure Ground-type, Illusion, and Cerberus to climb on his back. He took to the air, flew out the window and went to the window of Alex's room, Knight floating behind them all the way. They knew their partner, master, and friend as a brave teen, someone who never got scared, but their hearts shattered when they saw how broken he looked, crying on his bed with his head against his knees as he visibly shook.

"Why can't I ever be normal? I thought I would have a chance to be normal, to be human, only for wounds to reopen again." he said softly, voice shaking, "She was and wasn't Jack. So much of Misty is Jack, but she's  _not_ Jack. I need to make myself see that, but I  _can't_. Why can't I?!" His fist, which he had used to hit the mattress, bounced slightly against the springs, staying curled in anger and hurt. Scar looked back and gave Survivor a look, asking, 'Should we?' Glancing to Alex, Survivor shook his head. He understood Alex needed to be alone right now. Nodding, the Staravia and Knight took off, going to Alex door in the hallway and staying there to guard it. They gave glares to anyone that passed,  _daring_  them to try and get to Alex. Paul and Brandon were watching from a distance, behind a corner.

"Why aren't they doing anything? Aren't they supposed to help him?" the teen growled.

"Maybe they know they can't and that's why they're protecting him." the man reasoned, "My pokemon have done the same for me before. But it's not going to help." he shook his head, "We need to get in there and comfort Alex somehow without them noticing."

"How?"

"Get your Honchkrow. I'll find another window." Paul gave him and incredulous look.

"You're not serious."

"C'mon. There's no telling what he'll do right now and trust me when I say some of it isn't good." Roles again reversed as Brandon dragged Paul away. But unknown to them, from a distance, they were being observed by another.

* * *

Alex rubbed at his eyes furiously, trying to get rid of the tears. He was strong, he had been for months! How could a single person make him break down so quickly, so majorly?

 _Because I want to see her again, to have her love and comfort me. I want her to be_ alive _._ he realized, then gave a harsh bark of laughter.

"Like that's ever gonna happen." he murmured, changing it like so many of the Americans that had once been around him did. At one point in time, back in his world, he had felt like King Arthur in America, he with devastating secrets in a nation that had many. But here, he didn't have to lie. He didn't need to keep secrets because there was no need to. Why did he, then? There were people willing to help, but he didn't want them because he didn't want them hurt, because they  _wouldn't understand_. Death, pain, and suffering followed him everywhere, there was no denying it, so then why did he travel with his pokemon? Did he not think they would get hurt because of him in some way?

"I know that look." Alex's head shot up to the window, wide eyes seeing Brandon sitting on the sill and a giant black, red, and white bird (looking like it was wearing a wide-brimmed hat) flying away, "You're thinking your pokemon don't deserve to be with you because of something about you. That isn't true." he shook his head, "Even if you tried to send them away, they wouldn't leave. They'll  _always_  come back because they're your friends and care for you, no matter what you think. Why do you think I had to come in through the window? They're out there, protecting you, even from me."

"Why are you here?" Alex snarled, eyes narrowing as he scrambled off the bed. He couldn't let Brandon see he was weak, not at all!

"I've been through this before. I may not know the reason why you're going through it, but I  _do_  know you're beating yourself up. It's happened to me more than once." Brandon stood, but didn't move forward, "I heard you ask Misty about  _that_  name and saw your reaction. If you want to stop hurting, you need to explain so the pain will easier to bear." It was at that moment Paul appeared, landing clumsily on the windowsill while the giant bird laughed. Giving a frustrated growl, the plumhead returned the pokemon before realizing that he had intruded upon a tense moment. He stood there awkwardly, eyes shifting everywhere but at Alex and Brandon as a small blush dusted his cheeks. His appearance gave the Pyramid King an idea.

"Tell him." he nudged Paul forward. The teen gave the man an incredulous look before sighing and turning to Alex.

"..." the purple-haired teen tried to muster up the courage to explain, as he already had a secret in mind to tell, "...My brother and I are orphans, the best we can gather. We were abandoned at a young age and we have no idea where our parents could be. I know it's not relevant to what's happened, but I thought that if I shared a secret of mine, it might make you more at ease with me. I'm sorry, but I'm used to thinking of all pokemon and people being below me and not showing them any respect unless they earn it." Alex was quiet as he sat back on the bed. He glanced between the two, no more tears in his eyes and wondering what was going on.

"...I'm an orphan too." he spoke after a minute, deciding that if they went this far for him, he could tell them a little bit about his past; it was only fair, "I've lost everyone I've cared for. I know my parents are dead, my uncle is dead, and my housekeeper, Jack Starbright, is dead. Misty... she looks and acts so much like Jack that I thought she  _was_  Jack." he shifted uncomfortably, "It's just been about half-a-year since she died and the wounds are still raw. Do you realize how badly I was hurt when I realized she  _wasn't_  Jack? Jack was the only adult I've ever really trusted, and I want to trust someone again, but it's very hard to." His eyes had become steel at the last sentence and he looked up at them, where they (surprisingly) didn't flinch, "Can I trust you?"

"That's your decision." Brandon spoke softly, "If you think you can, then do it. If not, don't. But just remember that there are some people who can be trusted, even if you don't think so. I'm not saying we're some of those people, just keep it in mind." Slowly, Alex nodded and his eyes softened.

"I know I can trust you both because you've gone this far for me, even though I didn't want it." the blond stood, "Thank you. Maybe after this tournament, we could do something together, earn more trust." His words made the eldest in the room realize how restricted he was, compared to the other two. Paul and Alex were on journeys, they could go wherever they wanted. Brandon, though his pyramid could take him almost anywhere, was not as free. He had a job to do and always had to be on call, so he couldn't go anywhere. Sam was a great guy, but couldn't do Brandon's job. Only he could do it, and it saddened him.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, attracting their attention. They hadn't heard the growls of Alex's pokemon as they had talked, so this was a surprise. The door opened to show Misty there, looking a little awkward, with something in her hand.

"I know there's something about me that frustrates you and that you're going for Gym Badges, so I decided to make it a little easier by giving you the Cascade Badge." she held out her hand, opening it to show the light blue, raindrop-shaped item, "Usually I wouldn't do this, but there are some things that can't be overcome, even certain fears from the past." The blond boy glanced down at her hand, then up at her before shaking his head. His heart ached at her similarities, but thanks to Brandon and Paul, he was sure he could face Misty without having a breakdown.

"No thanks." he walked over and took her hand underneath before using his free one to make her fingers close over the badge, "I know what you said has some depth to it and it's tempting, but I can't. It wouldn't be right. I'm supposed to earn the badges and that's what I'm going to do." he gave a small smile, "See you in Cerulean." He then ducked past her and left the room. His pokemon looked in, gave growls to the occupants of the room, and most left after Alex. The only one staying behind was Knight, and his eye was on Brandon. The brunette nodded and walked out with him, leaving Misty and Paul alone.

"...Strange kid. Reminds me of Ash." the redhead commented as she put the badge away.

"Yeah, but he's a lot wiser." Paul added as the events made him remember when Volkner used to freely give away badges.

* * *

"What is it?"

"Hon hone ho edge ed ed hone hon, edge hon?"  _(You won't be able to go with him, will you?)_ Brandon was startled at the Honedge's perceptiveness, but smiled sadly.

"Yeah, I won't." he shook his head, "I said I would stay with him, but now that I think about it, I can't. I have my job to do and won't be able to go with him."

"Edge honed ho ho edg ed hone honedgehoned." _(Then allow me to act as your representative.)_  Knight offered. Brandon's eyes lit up at the prospect.

"Are you sure? I'd like it, but would you be able to?" Knight nodded then gestured to the human's legs.

"Honed edg edgeho honed edge hon hon ed geho edg honed edge edge?" _(Would you rather travel with him and he find out about your scars?)_

"Touché." Brandon conceded, "But please, try to keep in touch if you can. It makes me feel better if I know that he's safe." With a small pat to the tassel, the man left. As Knight turned to go back to Alex, something occurred to him.

 _He understood me as well as Alex!_  the pokemon thought,  _Does that mean he has similar abilities to N?_  Looking back, however, he couldn't see Brandon anymore.

* * *

Thousands of miles away, in Chargestone Cave, Annie and Oakley began to wake up. They groaned as their head pounded, having been knocked out for who knows how long.

"Seems the thieves are waking up." The women looked up to see the boy sitting on a rock and watching them, his three pokemon around them. They weren't tied up, but they were certainly uneasy. They hadn't even seen him when they had been knocked out.

"We're not thieves!" Oakley winced at the loudness of her voice.

"Of course, of course..." the boy sat back, "Why are you here?"

"W-we're here to ask if you would like to join Team Rocket." Annie said, voice shaking.

"What's Team Rocket?"

"We're a band of thieves and criminals." Oakley said, "We were also sent to steal your pokemon, but with how you've managed to defeat us, I don't think we could do that."

"How very wise of you. And speaking of pokemon," he held up their pokeball belts, much to their shock, "here are your's. I won't give them back until you can give me a few contacts I need, including the one of your boss, Hunter J, and so on."

"Hunter J is dead! She perished a few years ago!" Annie cried. The blond boy gave a glance to Blade.

"Is this true?"

"Pawn pa niardpa."  _(She's in hiding.)_  said the Pawniard. The boy nodded and looked back at the women.

"Give me her number anyway. And if you don't comply, I'll let Wrestler have some more fun." The Machop grinned, pounding his fists together, and the women shivered. This boy was no regular criminal, he was crazy.

"Why are you so cruel?" Oakley asked. Annie tried to cover her mouth, but it was too late, the boy had already heard.

"I'm cruel?" he leaned forward, causing the girls to lean back and away from him, "The only one who's cruel is a boy named Alex Rider. He's taken everything away from me, so I'm going to take everything away from him! As for who I am," he grinned in a similar way to his Machop, "I'm Julius Grief."


	13. Rota Arc Pt. 7

As the days passed, Alex found himself moving up through the tournament, much to his surprise. Every section had began with 64 contestants, but was being narrowed down pretty quickly until now, where all the sections could be hosted in one day and each was at the Final Four stage. Alex glanced at Knight and Scar, who he was using to fight against the Rat Brat, a.k.a. Youngster Joey. The kid had two rat-like pokemon, the same species but regional variants of each other, and from what Alex had heard, they could be pretty terrifying and curb-stomping if given the right strategy to use. The way he knew this was because of Misty, who had told him when he had seen several people (Brandon and Volkner, for example) flee at the sight of the two pokemon.

"It's called the F.E.A.R. Strategy." she explained, "It allows even the weakest of pokemon to take down the strongest. Rattatas are notorious for using it, which is why those two ran like they were being chased by angry Tauros." He wondered if Tauros were bull-like pokemon, which her reference suggested, but tucked the thought away for later contemplation.

"Why aren't you scared of them, then?"

"It hasn't happened to me yet. By their reactions, though, I'm guessing they've been through it and can never see Rattata the same way again. F.E.A.R. can also stand for Freaking Evil Annoying Rodent." Alex doubted 'freaking' was the right word, but didn't correct her. That all lead up to now, where he waited for his name and Joey's to be called.

"I wonder if we'll be facing the F.E.A.R. strategy." the blond mused aloud, "I didn't think I'd be able to get this far, you know. But look at us now, three weeks after I came here and I'm already in a tournament, about to win. Let's show those guys what we can do a little more."

"Hon hon!"  _(Yes sir!)_  Knight saluted while Scar just kept quiet and nodded.

"Now, for the first of the Final Four Single Battles, is Alex vs. Joey!" The crowd cheered and the Brit returned his pokemon before stepping out into the stadium. He had been using Cerberus and Illusion for much of the tournament and this would be the first time he got to command either Knight or Scar in battle. It was also the second time he used two pokemon at a time during the tournament, the first time in the last round. Hopefully they would ace the fight, but you could never know for sure, could you? The F.E.A.R. strategy was the definition of that.

"Let the battle begin!" called the ref and the two boys sent out their first pokemon. Alex had Knight and Joey had a large black rat with patches of fur sticking out around its mouth, sort of like a moustache. He pulled his PokeDex out for some identification.

"Alolan variant of Rattata, the Mouse Pokemon. Like its counterpart, Alolan Rattata are Normal-types, but also have Dark-typing, giving them more immunities, advantages, and disadvantages. It does share many characteristics with its counterpart, however. With their strong capacity for survival, they can live in dirty places without concern. Left unchecked, their numbers multiply rapidly. Its incisors continue growing until its death. If its trainer doesn't offer it a file to gnaw on, it will gnaw on door frames, table legs, and so on. It's cautious in the extreme. Even while it's asleep, it constantly listens by moving its ears around."

 _Very cautious and a partial Dark-type._  Alex thought,  _Knight is weak against Dark-type moves, but he knows a Bug-type move, which should help me get the jump on that Rattata._

"Show them that you're a part of the top percentage of Rattata! Focus Energy!" Joey commanded, as Rattata was faster than Knight and had the first move. The black and dark gray rat tensed as a shudder passed through it. From what Alex knew, Focus Energy increased the critical hit ratio, meaning that if Knight got hit by a Dark-type move, it would most likely be a critical hit and knock him out. They would have to be careful.

"Swords Dance!" Knight spun as he made slashes into the ground to sharpen his blade.

"Shadow Claw!" Rattata shot forward, its forelegs and paws covered in a dark purple energy that formed into claws, like the namesake.

"Get higher as fast as you can!" Knight levitated much higher, getting out of Rattata's jumping range. The Mouse pokemon hissed in anger, glaring at the sword.

"Fury Cutter!" Knight shot down as the edges of his blade became covered in light green energy. It was only because Rattata blocked with Shadow Claw that neither were hurt. The Sword pokemon then went on the offensive, slashing repeatedly at Rattata and damaging its defenses, not to mention pushing it back. Though he had to defend a bit himself whenever Rattata tried to strike a Shadow Claw in. Both moves were formidable at this moment in time for a few reasons. Shadow Claw was already supereffective on Knight and had a high critical hit ratio to start with; Focus Energy amplified that. Fury Cutter was supereffective on Rattata because of its Dark-typing but got worse over time; every time you used Fury Cutter in succession, it got more powerful. But it also lost that power whenever you used another move, which was countered by Knight having used Swords Dance in the beginning. All in all, the Ghost-/Steel-type was slowing gaining the advantage until he suddenly broke the Shadow Claw shield and with a decisive hit, knocked out the Alolan Rattata.

Taking note of how Knight was wobbling, even though he was floating, Alex quickly switched him out with Scar as Joey brought out his second Rattata, this one a pure Normal-type. The bird hissed and the mouse squeaked in fear before running back to his master, touching his pokeball and returning himself. Tournament or not, he wasn't about to face off against  _that_  nasty thing! And because of that, it was counted as a forfeit, which allowed Alex to win without having to even ask Scar to attack. Honestly, the blond wasn't expecting that, blinking as the crowd cheered for him. Hearing the flap of wings, he held out his arm at accept Scar. Only a few pounds heavier than Illusion, it wasn't too hard for him to hold up the Normal-/Flying-type.

"Well, this was a runaway, wasn't it?" the boy said, stroking Scar around the face. The Staravia trilled in delight, causing Alex to smile.

"Ra stara..."  _(I suppose...)_  Scar said, then fluttered to the ground so they could leave and watch the next round start. As they left, they passed by the boy who was about to go on. He had red hair and a Pikachu was on his shoulder, which shared his spiky hair with his partner. Alex remembered seeing them in the Single Battles with a powerful flying orange lizard and a purple butterfly, so he briefly wondered why the boy was participating in the rookie section when he was so strong. Maybe to give others some tips or to train up his own pokemon?

"You really scared that thing, but try not to do it again, okay? I'd rather not scare off all my opponents." Scar gave a huff, but made no comment. He couldn't help it if he was scary, especially if it was because of his eye. And as soon as they left the hallway and entered the room where trainers stayed before a battle, they were surrounded by two reporters who looked strangely familiar. One was a woman with her bright yellow hair (certainly not blonde, not in that color), in two long and very straight pigtails, who held the microphone. The other was the cameraman, who had sea-green hair. Alex narrowed his eyes, as did Scar.

"Hello there!" said the woman, "You wouldn't mind if we interview you, would you?" Though he was still a bit happy from his victory, he wasn't about to let that get in the way to telling these guys to go somewhere else. He didn't trust them, not one bit, especially when they felt  _very_  familiar.

"No thank you." he bit out, "Please excuse us-" he tried to move past them.

"Just a single interview!" He glared at them when they wouldn't let him pass, where it occurred to him about why they were so familiar, causing his glare to deepen.

"Scar, Steel Wing." The Staravia happily obliged, hitting the two out a nearby window.

"How didn't he fall for it?!" Cassidy cried as she and Butch were sent flying.

"He's smart, for one thing! And for another, we're blasting off!"

"Good riddance." Alex murmured, watching as they flew so far they couldn't be seen before continuing on his way. But unknown to anyone, the Light Stone had been glowing softly during the exchange and was now quiet and cold.

* * *

"You're scared of a  _rat_."

"A rat that can destroy  _Arceus himself_  if need be!"

"It was still a  _rat_."

"Don't care!" Paul facepalmed, wondering why he was trying to get Brandon to leave the 'safety' of the underside of his bed. The older man wasn't the only one hiding under there, either. So were the three Regis, out of their pokeballs and taking up the most space. Ice was freezing the floor and everything else around it, Rock was shaking like a leaf, and Steel... It was actually pretty calm but wouldn't budge, not even as ice began to creep up one side and scratches appeared on the other after sitting so close to Rock for so long. Hearing the cheers from outside, Paul's lips twitched.

"Looks like Alex won. You don't need to hide anymore."

"DON'T. CARE." came the demon hiss from below. Rolling his eyes, Paul left the man and his pokemon alone and went to search for something to do. He wasn't going to spend his whole day trying to coax Brandon. Even calling Reggie would be a better idea than that. And speaking of his brother, they hadn't talked in a while, had they? Reggie was probably worried sick or something stupid, so might as well call him. But when he brought out his PokeGear and called, all he got was the answering machine, which was weird.

"Listen, Reggie," he decided to leave a message on the answering machine, in case his brother checked, "it's Paul. I know this sounds strange, but I called to check up on you. I've got nothing else to do, either. I-" he stopped himself before he could continue, changing his ending words, "Just call back, okay?" Ending the call, Paul stared at the item for a few seconds before putting it away. No use in reminiscing on things that would never be again, after all. How had they grown so far apart, anyway? What had caused it? Was it because of his selfish desire to grow stronger or because of something Reggie did? That was hard to believe, though, because his brother was a pretty harmless guy, even back when they were kids. He was taken out of his thoughts as his PokeGear began to ring.

"Paul, is that really you?" Reggie's voice was uncertain.

"Of course it's me. Just because I call you out of the blue for a chat doesn't make me possessed by a Gastly or something, you know."

"I beg to differ, but I'm glad to know it's you. Anyway, is there something you need?"

"No. I called because I was bored and I had nothing productive to do. Why didn't you answer me, though?" A smirk came to his face, "Were you talking with Mylene by any chance."

"No way, of course not!" Reggie protested, but Paul knew it was full of lies.

"Mmm-hmm." the younger then began to frown again, "I've also been thinking... What tore us apart? We used to be close, didn't we? What happened?" Reggie's end was quiet for a minute, making Paul wonder if he had hung up, before he spoke.

"I honestly don't know. You did your own thing, I did mine, and I guess it happened so slowly over time that we didn't notice. And also, good luck with winning the tournament."

"Thanks. See you."

"You too, little bro." As Paul ended his call, he didn't notice he was being watched by someone, someone who wasn't about to get caught.

* * *

**PokeSpeak:**

Persian looked back, hesitant. He knew he wasn't supposed to be down here, but how could he just let his master do this? But there was also nothing he could do except comfort, which he was good at. He slunk down the stairs to the basement, where he was met with a giant metal, hurricane-level door. Tearing open a panel on the side, he re-wired the mechanics to force the door open, having done this many times before. He went down the hall, head bowed as painful screams and whimpers met his ears.

 _If I could do something, I would._  Persian thought,  _As it is, I'm doing my best to help you all. Just hold on a little longer, please._

"Well well well, look who came to visit us again." He flinched at the familiar voice and turned to look to the side. The hallway was lined with various panes of glass, each with a plate in front of them. On the other sides of the glass were what seemed to be pokemon, but they were either horribly deformed in some way or looked like a mash between many different versions.

The one that had spotted Persian was a purple Ninetales with a face, mane, and tails that reflected an Arbok's. At the end of each tail was a yellow band, which were now flicking around in time with the pokemon's long tongue. The plate in front of the glass described the creature as an Arbtales, a Poison-/Fire-type that had been created through the fusion of an Arbok and Ninetales. It was at the Arbtales' voice that other pokemon took noticed of Persian. They growled and jeered at him, partially blaming him for their predicament though he had no hand in it. Most of their anger was directed at humans, however, so he was mostly safe. Oh, but if they ever got loose... Persian shivered at the thought.

"I came down for a visit. Unfortunately, I have no news." he spoke, "At least I'm not cruel, though, not like the humans."

"But you're just as bad." Arbtales argued, "You do nothing to help us."

"I try, at least, and I'm on your side. Is that not good enough?"

"No, no it isn't. Until you can find a way to tear us apart, back into our normal, separate bodies, we will continue to jeer at and dislike you. You have no friends here, Persian, so I suggest you leave before your pathetic human master finds you here." Arbtales grinned the best he could with only four fangs as teeth, "I'd like to see him put you in our shoes."

"Goodbye, all of you." Persian turned and left before the 'Cobra Fox' pokemon (as the humans classified him, merging Arbok's and Ninetales' classifications to create it) could poke more fun at him. Truly he had tried to help them, but to no success. They were hopeless about being saved, but he was not. This may not have been his mistake, but was one of the ones who could fix it. He wasn't about to let them live in misery all their lives, not one bit.

**End PokeSpeak**

* * *

_Many legends were predicted by Arceus and recorded in the Hall of Records, where they continue to stand eternally and undisturbed. Some have already been fulfilled, but there is one that is very dangerous. It details the appearance of two boys and a man who decide the fate of a new species, as well as the fates of all pokemon and humans._

_Each of them has been hurt and connected in ways that no one else can hope to understand unless they know the three. The man is to keep order between the two, who hate each other. The Child of Death is kind and closed, while the Child of Life is happy at others' misery. The Man of Order is cold to both, yet cares for one. They must have a decision where at least two agree before they can take action with the new species. If not, then they must wage war, for they_ must _make a choice._

_However, until they are truly needed, the three cannot learn the identities of their protectors. It may mean the end of the world if they do, or at least the destruction of everything around them._

_There is one good thing, though. The Child of Death and the Man of Order will have a family to turn to while the Child of Life has nothing. Life will be jealous and try to take that away from Death by destruction. If Life succeeds, then more death will follow, as well as hate and fear where Order could do nothing to stop it._

_Let us hope the three humans makes the right decisions, then. They carry more than their own lives in their hands, after all._

* * *

Arceus closed his eyes after reading the words several times. It was almost hard to believe that the three humans had already come, their protectors watching over them. One was evil (there were no other words that could be used to describe the boy), one was a dark-type of good, and the last was darkly neutral. Good and Neutral knew each other, as did Evil and Neutral, and Good and Evil hated each other. It all fit the prophecy, but would they be able to pull it off? It seemed impossible, but maybe there was a way.

"Perhaps they could use more than one protector." he mused aloud, "Two of them already have Reshiram and Zekrom to help guard them, so why not more?" He sent out pulses to connect to each of the legendaries he knew that would be needed: the Weather and Creation trios, plus Kyurem.

"I never ask anything of any of you unless I have a reason. My reason is that the New Species Prophecy is happening and I believe that the humans will need more than one protector. Kyurem, Giratina, Rayquaza, go to the Man of Order. The rest of you choose who you will go with, but you must be on opposite sides. For example, Dialga and Palkia cannot go to the same boy. Do you understand?" Upon getting agreements, he ended the connection, hoping his decision was right. As his eyes opened, he spotted Cresselia come into the Hall of Origin. She had a determined look upon her face, one that was often there when she was about to face her opposite.

"Sir, I request to visit Kanto for a short span of time."

"May I ask why?"

"To see the Child of Death. Darkrai has told me that he can feel the boy's nightmares, even from so far. I wish to give him a Lunar Wing, if only to calm him so that his nightmares won't be so powerful."

"But do you you not prevent nightmares?"

"Yes," she nodded, "however, my wings are not as powerful. If he is to be at peace with the power of his nightmares, then I must be at his side at all times and I cannot do that. Also, his nightmares worry me with a point Darkrai made. He believes that, if he was there, his presence would not affect the boy's nightmares like it usually would. In fact, he thinks he would have no effect at all. That is how bad the boy's nightmares seem to be."

"Then you may go, but not be seen. Remember, he is still adjusting to this world and I do not believe he would like your sudden appearance." She smiled in gratitude.

"Thank you, sir." she bowed, "I will do what I can." Cresselia then left and Arceus wondered how powerful Death's dreams had to be to reach Darkrai all the way from Kanto, yet not touch Cresselia. In all honesty, it was sort of terrifying.

 _At least there are some besides his protectors willing to help him._  Arceus thought.

* * *

It took most of the night, but she still got there. She was disturbed by the lack of raging nightmares, however. There was the occasional normal one, but it was hard to sense for some reason, as if something was oppressing it. It was like a gigantic silence that consumed all around it. Disturbing, to say the least, and she wondered if she could possibly go back and get Darkrai to-

 _No!_ Cresselia thought, interrupting herself and shaking it off,  _This is_ my _job and I'm going to get it done without his help!_  She tried to follow the source of the oppression and soon came to the window of the Child of Death. And as soon as she floated inside, she flinched at the assault of darkness on her mind. Horrible flashes of the boy's nightmares came and went as quickly as Ninjask in her mind's eye, almost unable to be seen. It was like she was trying to push against the tide just being in that room alone. No wonder Darkrai had been so worried yet so content with the nightmares.

Straining against the darkness, she quietly made her way over to the boy and plucked a feather from herself, laying it on the boy's forehead. Immediately the flow of darkness was cut in half, making it easier for her to move and breathe. She had to restrain a sigh of relief as she gazed at the child's face. He looked much calmer now, with the Lunar Wing on his forehead, and yet... The power of his nightmares frightened her. They only affected those who could sense nightmares, but oppressed others like itself, maybe even ate them like a Munna or Musharna could. A nightmare eating other nightmares to make itself stronger and bring the boy into a deeper, more fearful sleep... The thought caused shivers to run up and down her spine.

And now that she examined him, wary of him or his pokemon waking up, she was struck with another realization. Her presence alone was doing nothing, but the Lunar Wing  _was_. Somehow, an item from her coat was doing more good than she was. Just like how Darkrai said he would do nothing if he had been here.

 _Poor child..._  Mindful of her feather, Cresselia stretched out a hand to brush his brow, to help calm him. There was no effect, but she could feel the darkness that covered much of his body. It felt like a sickly goo that tried to stick to anything, even her, though it wasn't real. Pulling away, she knew that she had to return to Sinnoh soon or risk being caught. Giving the boy another sad look, she left, the only trace being her Lunar Wing.

* * *

When Alex awoke, he found that he had another night of wonderful sleep, something he didn't get that often. Uncurling his grip around Survivor and Illusion, the boy sat up and a feather floated down to his chest. Curious, he picked it up. It had a peculiar crescent shape, beginning as white fluff, then lime green before fading to yellow. Glancing up at Scar, who rested in the rafters, Alex saw no similarities to point that the Staravia had shed the feather, so now he began to wonder how it had gotten there and why. It hadn't been there when he had gone to sleep and he doubted any of his pokemon put it there, either, so where had it come from? Why was it there?

"Scar?" he spoke. He thought that, being a bird-like pokemon, the Normal-/Flying-type might be able to give insight on the feather. His voice not only woke up its intended target but also the rest of his pokemon, which was just as well. They may know if Scar didn't.

"Via?"  _(Yeah?)_

"Come down here for a sec. There's something I think you need to take a look at." Sleepy but curious, he did so, flapping down until his claws rested on the headboard, "Do you recognize this?" Alex held out the feather. It took a few moments before Scar's mind registered what he was seeing and he nearly fell over out of shock.

"Ra ravia star?!" _(A Lunar Wing?!)_  he squawked, "Stara sta sta ravia?!" _(Where'd you get that?!)_

"It fell from my head when I woke up. But I don't get it. What does it do, why was it there?"

"Zoru zorua ru Ruazo Zozo."  _(I've heard of Lunar Wings.)_  Illusion yawned, "Ruazo zoruazo zo zoru rua zorua ruarua ru zoru zorua rua rua ruazo zor zo Zozorua, rua zoru zo zorua zozozo rua zoruarua zo zo."  _(They're supposed to help the person nearest to them sleep and are given_   _out by Cresselia, but only to those deemed very needing of it.)_  At that revelation, Alex examined the feather even further.

"And where are Cresselia from?"

"Staraviasta Ravia, ra Starstar."  _(Fullmoon Island, in Sinnoh.)_  Scar said, "Ravia viastaravia sta Raviaia, ravia star ra Staraviara Ravia."  _(Their counterparts are Darkrai, which live on Newmoon Island.)_

"What do they do?"

"Honedhon honed edge edgeho, Honhon honed honedgeho."  _(Cresselia cause good dreams, Darkrai cause nightmares.)_ Knight explained.

"Then I wonder..." Alex looked out his window as he fingered the feather, watching the sunrise, "Why did a Cresselia come so far to give me a part of it? Did it know I have nightmares and wanted to help? It sounds pretty impossible, I know, but I'm grateful for it." the blond boy smiled, "Maybe now I can get some sleep." And, in a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing, he grabbed his iPod and began playing  _Mr. Sandman_  by the Chordettes. It sounded both silly and yet strangely appropriate for the situation. It also spooked Scar and Knight, who had never heard the thing before and squawked (literally, in Scar's case) in surprise. This caused the blond boy to laugh, another thing none of them had heard from him. It may have been a small chuckle, but no one had heard Alex laugh before, so it was a nice surprise.


	14. Rota Arc Pt. 8

With his new Lunar Wing, Alex decided to explore Rota and possibly find a place that could help him make the feather into a necklace. As usual, Survivor and Illusion rode on his shoulders while Scar flew above and Cerberus and Knight followed at his heels. All in all, it felt sort of like they were his own little posse, there to protect him no matter the cost. It made him smile a bit, but he didn't smile for long. As it was also one of the last days for the tournament, there came the requirement of dressing up. There were outfits in the castle that all were welcome to use, but Alex wasn't looking forward to it. He wasn't the kind of guy who liked to dress up unless he had no other choice (i.e. spying).

As he and his pokemon explored Rota, they came across a square where mock battles were being held. Spotting some pokemon he had seen but not scanned, the blond stood to the side and took out his PokeDex.

"Blastoise, the Shellfish Pokemon and final evolved form of Squirtle. Previously thought unable to evolve further, it is one of the few capable of Mega Evolution. It has water spouts that protrude from its shell, which are very accurate. They can shoot bullets of water with enough accuracy to strike empty cans from a distance of over 160 feet and can use streams of them to accelerate its tackles. It crushes its foe under its heavy body to cause fainting and in a pinch will withdraw inside its shell.

"Nidoking, the Drill Pokemon and final evolved form of Nidoran (Male). One of the few pokemon with counterparts, its counterpart is Nidoqueen, each fixed with a certain gender. Its thick tail packs enormously destructive power, enough to topple a metal transmission tower in one swing. The tail is also swung around during battle and if an opponent is caught in its grip, said opponent is rendered helpless very quickly. Once this Pokémon goes on a rampage, there is no stopping it. It is recognized by its rock-hard hide and its extended horn. Be careful with the horn, as it contains venom. If its foe flinches, it will charge with its sturdy body.

"Machoke, the Superpower Pokemon and evolved form of Machop. As a result of its continual workouts, it has developed tremendous power. It willingly assists with hard labor because it knows the work is good training for its muscles and continues to train, even on its days off. Said muscles possess the hardness of steel. This Pokémon has so much strength, it can easily hold aloft a sumo wrestler on just one finger and can lift a dump truck one-handed. However, because it has so much power, it wears a power-save belt to be able to regulate its motions.

"Starmie, the Mysterious Pokemon and final evolved form of Staryu. Its unusual body shape, reminiscent of abstract art, led local people to spread rumors that this Pokémon may be an invader from outer space. Its shining core, which glows in seven colors, is thought to receive and transmit enigmatic signals. Because of this nature, it has been given the nickname "the gem of the sea." It has been known to cause headaches in those who approach it and swims through the water by spinning its dual star-shaped body.

"Raichu, the Mouse Pokemon and final evolved form of Pichu. It is one of the few pokemon who evolve via stones and has a regional variant. Said variant is also part Psychic-type and surfs on its tail, either in the air or on the water. It becomes aggressive when it has electricity stored up. At such times, even its Trainer has to take care to avoid being attacked. It unleashes electric shocks that can reach 100,000 volts, which have been known to down enemies several times its size. This Pokémon exudes a weak electrical charge from all over its body that makes it take on a slight glow in darkness. It plants its tail in the ground to discharge electricity. Scorched patches of ground will be found near this Pokémon's nest."

Those were only a few of the pokemon competeing, all of whom Alex had seen before during the tournament at one point or another. The boy stopped watching, though, when he saw a necklace booth. Tucking his Dex away and grasping the Lunar Wing (which he had put in his pocket), he went over to the little booth.

* * *

"Brandon!" The man looked up from the book he had been reading as his friend burst in. He had already had breakfast, as well as his pokemon, so he had been taking it easy in his room until now.

"What is it, Sam?"

"Look at this!" he held out a wanted poster, "It's been circulating through the regions for a while and we only just got an email about it." Brandon took the paper and was about to ask more when his words died in his throat. It was a wanted poster of  _Alex_. Or, at least, the boy in the pictures looked a lot like him. They detailed the boy's exploits in Unova, very far from Kanto, and there was a note at the bottom in bold telling of Alex and cautioning others not to mistake the two, written by the Officer Jenny of Viridian.

"...Thank you for showing this to me, Samuel. I'll deal with it, but please don't mention it to Alex."

"Why not? Won't he need to know about someone impersonating him?"

"I have the feeling he won't take it well, moreso than we think." Brandon folded the poster and placed it in a chest pocket, "Just let me take care of it." Sam gave him a skeptical look, but sighed.

"Alright. But know I'm here if you need me, okay?" The Pyramid King only nodded, making the other man frown but do nothing other than close the door, leaving Brandon alone.

"Regirock, I need your assistance." he threw the pokeball as he stood, releasing the stone golem.

"Reg rocki..."  _(Not again...)_  sighed the Rock-type, but stood still and allowed its master to punch it. The punching was something Brandon did to let off steam, even if it hurt his hands. It was a wonder how they weren't scarred like the rest of his body with how often he did it. When the human was finished, Regirock repaired himself and went over to Brandon's sack, pulling out the same type of bandages used on the man's legs. Holding up his master's shaking hands, the pure Rock-type pressed the roll into them.

"Rock regirock regi regi?"  _(What happened this time?)_  it asked as Brandon automatically began to bandage his hands.

"Alex." he muttered, "Someone's impersonating him. If he does something and people think it was Alex who did it, the kid could get in some serious trouble. After all, this imposter has robbed several places!"

"Regi rock roc." _(Then tell him.)_

"I can't. Like I told Sam, I've got the feeling Alex wouldn't take it very well."

"Re roc regi gi roro regiregi gi roc, regi  _rock roc_." _(If you want to mean something to him, then_  tell him _.)_

"But-" Regirock rested an arm on Brandon's shoulder, showing it wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. The man sighed.

"Alright, I'll tell him. But what about Ilene? What will she do if she finds out?"

"I would not overreact, as you did." The voice surprised the two, making them turn to the door, where said woman was standing. In her arms was Mime Jr. once again, but her entourage wasn't with her. Walking in, she closed the door behind her.

"I may not have as much of a connection to Alex as you do, Brandon, but I do know not to condemn him for something as trivial as mistaken identity. As for how I know it, your friend Samuel has your best interests at heart." she held up a hand before he could speak, "He told me to make sure I would not do anything to Alex, which I promised. However, I came by to ask if you knew anything more about the doppelganger. I do not suppose you do, do you?"

"..." the Pyramid King wasn't sure what to say. Sam had betrayed his trust by telling Ilene but only to make sure Alex would be okay. Should he be mad or thankful? Brandon was torn between the two, only shaking his head.

"No ma'am, I don't. He gave me this paper just before he told you." he took out the poster and showed it to the queen. She frowned upon viewing it.

"This is troublesome news, but I have an idea of how to help Alex. Come with me." Sharing a look with Regirock, Brandon and his pokemon followed as Ilene left the room. Whatever idea she had, it had better be good because Brandon knew he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly until he knew Alex would be safe.

* * *

Tying the new Lunar Wing necklace around his neck, Alex and his pokemon left the booth to look around some more. They didn't have to look far, as shortly after all the battles ended, music began to play and people and pokemon alike began to dance. Sneaking glances through the gathering crowd, the blond could also see some of the dancers preforming, such as Maylene and Bruno with their Lucario and Hitmonchan.

_Seems they haven't left yet._  Alex mused. He had seen Maylene get eliminated a while back and Bruno was still in the running, but the defeat didn't seem to have dampened the pink-haired girl's spirits. In fact, she seemed happier now than she ever had before as she did a handstand on Lucario's feet, which was a part of a 4-tier handstand with Bruno and his pokemon. And when they all returned to the ground, they bowed and everyone clapped. The festival-like air was contagious and was making everyone happy, but Alex felt more alone than he had felt in a while.

"Let's go." he said and walked away, back towards the castle. His pokemon exchanged looks of confusion and worry, but followed diligently.

"Houndour our do hound?"  _(Shouldn't you be happy?)_  asked Cerberus.

"What's there to be happy about?" Alex said, "Besides, crowds aren't really my thing."

"Hon-"  _(But-)_  Knight tried.

"Enough." Alex bit out. Knight flinched but said no more, as did the rest. Their partner obviously wasn't in the mood to talk, so it was best to leave him be.

* * *

"There. This should help him as long as he stays in Kanto."

"How?"

"Rota may not have as much power as it used to, but I still have the authority to do this."

"You're sure this will work?"

"Positive. However, as I mentioned, this will only work in Kanto. Elsewhere, he is likely to not be able to get out of it. That is where you come in."

"I don't like this. What if something goes wrong? What if no one accepts your authority or thinks he forged it? And the same with my symbol!"

"They can always call us for confirmation. As a Frontier Brain, you have power over more than one region, so your symbol will also be able to protect him in Hoenn. And unless you would like to ask your Frontier friends for help, this is as much as we can do." Brandon frowned at her words, his arms crossed. Ilene's idea was to give Alex the Brave Symbol as well as the Badge of Rota (a very rare item given out only to those who have commited great services for Rota) and a long note stating how the boy was under the protection of both her nation and the Pyramid King himself. It also gave contact numbers for those who questioned the note.

"I don't know if he'll take this. He'll be suspicious if we try giving this to him without a reason." the man said.

"But did Regirock not convince you to tell Alex? He may be happy at what we're doing for him, Brandon." she spoke, "Again, I do not know him as well as you or have such a connection, but I believe he will be happy to take this just for the reason that  _you care about him_. He acts lonely much of the time, you know, so having the protection of someone who cares hovering over his head would be like a blessing. Give him that much."

"...We'll see." Brandon spoke at last, "But could we give this to him after the tournament?"

"We may not have the time." Ilene said, "If the wanted notice has already reached you, then it will not be long before it reaches me. We can put it off, but I do not suggest it."

"Could we try, at least? I  _really_  don't want to tell Alex about this..." Ilene sighed, but nodded.

"Of course, Brandon. But he  _will_  need to be told before he leaves Rota. If he is not given these gifts, then what was our purpose in doing this?" The queen had a point, he had to concede that.

"Fine, but I'll hold onto my symbol. The note and badge can be in your care."

"That was what I was planning anyway..." Ilene shook her head at Brandon as he left, just wondering how this would all work out.

* * *

"Cub cubonebo cubone cu cucu bone."  _(The tournament's going to start soon.)_

"I know."

"Zoru zoru zoruarua zo rua!"  _(Then find something to wear!)_  Illusion waved his tiny arms in exasperation. After they had returned to the castle, they had gone to the wardrobe room so Alex could find an outfit to wear. The boy was cutting it close, as the tournament was due to start in 10 minutes. However, Alex couldn't seem to decide between a few different outfits.

Besides the regular medieval costumes, there were quite a few based on pokemon, some of which Alex was attracted to: Dialga, Kyogre, and Yveltal, as their labels said. They were modeled after the three Legendary pokemon and each had a long, flowing cape, along with other objects to help match with the pokemon. Each were masterfully made and wonderful in their colors, making it hard to choose. Usually Alex would have just picked something and worn it because he had to, but these outfits interested him.

"Okay, how about this one?" he took the Dialga costume, which came with a long gray scepter with a blue, multi-faceted jewel on the end, spikes surrounding it. Handing the scepter to his pokemon, he left to change.

* * *

**PokeSpeak:**

"Honestly, how long does it take to pick out clothes he doesn't even care about?!" Illusion huffed, waving his arms again as Survivor and Knight worked together to keep the scepter up. They had it upside down for easier handling, being careful not to scratch the jewel against the floor.

"Well, maybe he likes to buy clothes?" Cerberus suggested.

"No, that wasn't it." Scar shook his head, tapping his beak with a wing as he thought, "Many of us know about Red and that he's Alex's protector, right?" When he got many nods, he continued, "Then why wouldn't Alex feel a connection? Even if he didn't understand it, he felt a connection to the clothes maybe because they reminded him of his protector."

"That doesn't quite explain Kyogre or Dialga, however." Knight added.

"Maybe it does." Survivor shot back, "Think about it. Red can't be Alex's protector all the time, so why wouldn't he gain more Legendary protectors?"

"That's a good point." Cerberus nodded, "But I wonder how our partner will meet them, then. We'll be travelling, yeah, but it's like a 1-in-a-million chance to meet a Legendary, let alone catch them!"

"Then let's see where we'll go next." Illusion said, "We can't predict the future, so the best we can do is follow Alex's lead." At his words, everyone nodded.

"And let's keep getting stronger so we can protect Alex!" Survivor said, "And let's beat Team Rocket!"

"YEAH!" they all cheered just as Alex returned.

**PokeSpeak End**

* * *

The outfit was surprisingly comfortable and even a bit roomy. The long-sleeve shirt and pants were dark blue with light blue streaks, the cape was long and clipped to the shirt instead of the blond's neck. The clips were a blue-silver color while the cape started out very dark blue, almost black but faded to light gray with 5 light blue streaks (same as on the clothes) running down it and also fading to the same color of light gray, making the spikes on the bottom. The gloves and boots were dark blue with light gray streaks and a blue jewel (similar to the one in the scepter) in the center of the back (on the gloves) or toe (on the boots) of each. The gray streaks flowed it straight lines on each, being thicker at the ends than at the beginning, making them pronounce the fingers and toes more. He still wore his belt, however, so he could keep an eye on his pokeballs. He held his backpack in one hand, where all his clothes were.

"What do you think?" Alex asked. All his pokemon clapped happily and it made him smile. Taking the scepter, he continued, "Let's go, then. The tournament is waiting."

"Bone, cub cu."  _(Here, let me.)_  Survivor jumped and grasped the bag, tugging it from Alex's grip. Once it was free, he slung it onto his back with almost no effort and looked proud of himself.

"You sure?" The Brit didn't look so convinced of the pure Ground-type's strength. But when the small pokemon nodded, Alex let it go and they continued to the tournament.

* * *

"As you all know, the tournament is coming to a close." said the announcer, "And since this is the last round before we have our champions, the competitors are required to dress up. And after these fights, if the champions wish they, they'll be able to fight to other champions, if just for a big of fun! Now, here's the final Rookie battle!" Everyone cheered as Alex stepped out, facing off against the redhead from last time. His Pikachu was still on his shoulder, so Alex briefly wondered if he would have to fight the Electric-type. As it was, the blond remembered seeing the costume the redhead was wearing back in the wardrobe room. It was a replica of Sir Aaron's, wasn't it?

"To the north is Alex, an amazing young rookie who has taken himself very far!" the announcer continued, "And to the south is Ritchie, a veteran battler who once fought in the Indigo League!"

"Let the battle begin!" the ref waved his flags and the two boys sent out their pokemon.

"Go, Scar/Rose!"

_Veteran battler, huh?_ Alex thought as Scar flew across from a small, blue, red, and white bird that reminded him of a Swallow,  _He must have some pokemon he wanted to train up, though, such as Rose._  Taking out his PokeDex, he scanned the pokemon, along with his own.

"Taillow, the Tiny Swallow Pokemon. The Rookie Bird of Hoenn, it's a part of the bird pokemon group that is great for beginners. It courageously stands its ground against foes, however strong they may be. This gutsy Pokémon will remain defiant even after a loss. On the other hand, it cries loudly if it becomes hungry or lonesome. It dislikes cold seasons. They migrate to other lands in search of warmth, flying over 180 miles a day, and feed on Wurmple that live in the forests they cross.

"Staravia, the Starling pokemon and evolved form of Starly. The evolved form of the Rookie Bird of Sinnoh, its a bit stronger than Starly and can carry its trainer in its talons if needed. It flies around forests and fields in search of food. Much like Starly, it stays within a huge flock and can squabble violently with other flocks. Recognizing their own weakness, they always live in a group. When alone, it cries noisily." Noting to ask about the 'Rookie Bird' group later, Alex thought of how he and Scar could win the fight.

"Double Team!" he barked. Scar began flying faster and soon doubles were popping up all over the field.

"Counter with your own Double Team, Rose!" Ritchie said. The Taillow did so and quickly it became hard to tell which were the real pokemon.

"Quick Attack!" Alex had to clear out the copies quickly, because this wasn't working. Scar obliged, cutting through many of the Rose copies and leaving his own safe. However, that had also shown Ritchie just which Staravia was real.

"Quick Attack yourself!" Pausing for only a moment, Rose then cut through Scar's copies and quickly hit the Starling pokemon. It didn't do as much damage as usual with Scar's Intimidate in place, but it was still a critical hit. By now the skies were clear of the copies, leaving the two alone. But then Alex had an idea.

"Grab Rose in your talons!" The Taillow was surprised at being caught and struggled helplessly, "Quick Attack around the field!" Scar obeyed, though he wondered where Alex was going with this, "Now let go!" When Rose was freed at such high speed, it spin in the air before getting a chance to right itself, looking disoriented. It dawned on Scar what Alex had done.

_He purposefully had me catch Rose so I could make it confused._  Scar thought,  _Flying pokemon get disoriented when they don't have control over their flight, such as when we ride on an airplane._ the Staravia smirked,  _Clever kid. I wonder how he knew that..._

"Steel Wing!" Alex called.

"Dodge!" Ritchie cried. Scar's wings became encased in metal and he slammed into the still-disoriented Rose, throwing it to the ground. Though getting hurt, staying on the ground for a few moments, allowed Rose to stop being disoriented, where it took to the air again.

"Go back to the ground and use Wing Attack!" Alex saw what Ritchie was trying to do.

"Stay where you are!" he barked. Scar looked at him as if he was crazy, nervously watching Rose as it flew close to the ground. When the Taillow began hitting the ground with its wings and throwing up dust, Alex continued, "Now beat your wings and fast as you can!" Scar did so, also adding a little power to it. Instead of the dust flying into his eyes, the counter-measure threw the dust into Rose's.

"Tai!" cried the small pokemon, wiping at its eyes with its wings. It was unable to get the dust out of its eyes and was now considerably blinded.

"Land and use Wing Attack!"

"Use Gust to keep Scar away!" Rose did so, though the Gust was a little off. It did manage to do its job, but not for long. Scar bypassed the attack and landed, his wings glowing white.

"It's not often that bird pokemon fight on the ground, folks, so we might just be in for a surprise!" said the announcer. And he was right. Bird pokemon were at a disadvantage from fighting on the ground, so they almost always fought in the air, even if it tired them out quicker than on the ground.

"Block behind you with Wing Attack!" Ritchie commanded. As Rose was still blinded, it followed the redhead's order's to the letter, barely blocking Scar's attack.

"Steel Wing!" With a single swing, Scar's metal-covered wing broke Rose's defenses and sent the Taillow flying. When it landed, there were swirls in its eyes.

"Taillow is unable to battle! The round goes to Staravia!" Ritchie gave Alex a smile as he returned his pokemon. It seemed he had found someone as good as Ash to battle. This was going to be interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Rota is still a kingdom, which means it still has considerable power. And I've noticed that the Kanto Battle Frontier is also the Hoenn Battle Frontier, so Brandon technically has power in both regions.
> 
> 2\. The Dialga costume and the Rookie Bird groups are things I created myself. Said bird groups are just the first bird pokemon and their evolutions you usually come across in each region.
> 
> 3\. A headcanon of mine is that bird pokemon can get disoriented if they don't fly of their own power. Usually they can control their flight, so when something happens that they can't control (like flying but without using your own wings), it disorients them.


	15. Rota Arc Pt. 9

"Go, Spear!" This time, a pokemon resembling an angry Sparrow came onto the battlefield.

"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokemon." said the PokeDex when Alex brought it out, "Not considered one of the Rookie Bird pokemon for its attitude, it has a notoriously bad temper and is hard to train. Its loud cry can be heard over half a mile away. If its high, keening cry is heard echoing all around, it is a sign that they are warning each other of danger. It flaps its short wings to fly and flush out insects from tall grass, then plucks them with its stubby beak. And despite the size of its wings, it can dart around very fast when it becomes territorial. Farmers whose fields are troubled by bug Pokémon appreciate it for its vigorous appetite and look after it."

"Bad temper, huh?" Alex muttered to himself as Scar took to the sky to meet the Spearow. He remembered how he had used his enemies' tempers to get the best of them before, so maybe he and Scar could do the same here. However, Ritchie wasn't going to fall for his tricks this time, so he would have to be a bit trickier to make it all work. It was going to be even harder because Scar couldn't use his Intimidate ability again unless he was taken out and put back into battle, along with the fact that the Staravia was tired.

"Scar, return." Hopefully Scar would recover enough for a fight later on, because for now, Alex would have to use a different pokemon, "Go, Illusion!" The little Zorua came out, but yipped in fright of the mean-looking Spear.

"It's okay." Alex assured him, "Spear only  _looks_  scary." Shakily, Illusion nodded and put on a brave face. He stepped forward on shaky legs and glared, trying not to show his fear. To Ritchie that was a lie, but one that got Illusion to try and be brave. A bit impressive, really.

"Spear, Growl!"

"Fake Tears!" Spear's Growl was overshadowed by Illusion's loud crying, so the move was cancelled out.

"Well, that's one way to stop a move!" the announcer spoke, as he and much of the audience hadn't seen a strategy like it before. Alex could see slight surprise on Ritchie's face as well, but the redhead covered it before attacking again.

"Leer!" Illusion stopped crying and cowered at the glare, frozen on the spot.

 _With him scared, there's not much I can do._  Alex thought,  _I need to motivate him somehow, trigger his temper possibly. But how?_  The blond glanced around, trying to get ideas, then something came to him.

"Create a duststorm!" Illusion's eyes began glowing blue and the wind seemed to kick up greatly, the sand of the field running around and creating the duststorm. Spear was surprised and stopped glaring, but its trainer wasn't.

"It's just a trick! Fly through it!" Spear gave him a look, but did as instructed and flew into the duststorm. The Spearow flew out the other side, but the storm didn't go down.

"Now bring up stone pillars!" As Alex had asked, several pillars came out of the ground quickly, making Spear have to fly higher. The duststorm also settled, revealing Illusion, much more confident than before.

"Aerial Ace!" Ritchie shouted. Lines of white circled Spear as it flew through the pillars and at Illusion. Alex knew the move never missed, so he decided to block it.

"Put up a wall!" A stone wall came out of the ground, where Spear had to halt before hitting it, forgetting it was only an image.

"Row row row!" Spear cawed, his temper igniting.

"Calm down!" the redhead tried to reason, but the flying pokemon wasn't having any of it. Getting covered in a dark energy, it flew over the wall and charged Illusion. Alex recognized it as Pursuit and quicky began thinking ahead.

"Dodge repeatedly!" Illusion did so and kept jumping just out of range, enraging Spear even more.

"Spear, stop! He's trying to trap you!" The Spearow didn't listen, however, and conjured Aerial Ace again.

"Bring a wall up over yourself!" A wall curved out of the ground over Illusion, the Zorua tense in preparation for what was to come. Spearow came closer and closer and was almost on top of Illusion before Alex gave the next order.

"Now!" The pure Dark-type got out of the way and the Normal-/Flying-type crashed. As Illusion's tricks faded away, everyone could see that Spear was knocked out.

"Spearow is unable to battle! The round goes to Zorua!" Illusion yipped happily as the crowd cheered and Ritchie returned his pokemon. He gave Alex a smile and nod before sending out his next pokemon.

"Go, Tenta!" A blue jellyfish-like creature came out, floating just about the ground. It had two eyes that could be seen and red jewels, along with only two tentacles. A shiver went down Alex's spine as he was reminded of another creature he had encountered in the past. Trying to not think about it, the blond brought out his PokeDex.

"Tentacool, the Jellyfish Pokemon. It drifts in shallow seas, such as the areas near beaches, and can be found washed up on them at times. Their bodies are mostly composed of water and can be dehydrated easily, but usually still alive if they dry out and will be revived with just a bit of water. If you get bitten or stabbed by its toxic tentacles, rush to the hospital. It absorbs sunlight and refracts it using water inside its body to convert it into beam energy. This Pokémon shoots beams from the small round organ above its eyes. Anglers who hook them by accident are often punished by their stingers."

 _This seems to be another pokemon with a bad temper, but I can't say for sure. For now, though, Illusion needs to stay away and not get stung._  "Fake Tears!" The little Zorua cried, but Tenta was completely unaffected, just staring without even reacting to the crying.

"I'm guessing Tenta has Clear Body, folks!" spoke the announcer, "Clear Body keeps the pokemon's stats from being lowered, so Fake Tears won't work, no matter how much Illusion tries!" Alex frowned at that revelation and tried to think up a new plan.

"Toxic Spikes!" the center jewel glowed and purple spikes were thrown out, covering the battlefield. Not familiar with the move but guessing by the name, Alex thought they were poisonous.

"Don't touch them!" he warned. Illusion's fear showed again and he shakily nodded.

"Attract!" Pink, heart-shaped energy formed in front of the Tentacool and was pushed forward, towards Illusion. Unable to move with the spikes around, the Zorua was hit and hearts appeared in his eyes. He looked like a giddy kid as his tongue lolled out.

"Illusion, Leer!" The pure Dark-type paid no attention to Alex's command, so the boy returned the pokemon. He sent out the only pokemon he had that he knew would have a chance, "Go, Knight!"

"Ho!" The Ghost-/Steel-type floated over the spikes and even if he did land on them, he wouldn't be affected because of his steel-typing. The Brit saw Ritchie frown and he smiled, knowing he had the advantage.

"Swords Dance and clear out some areas!" As the Honedge danced around and cut the field, he brushed the spikes away, clearing a few areas but not all of the battlefield.

"Attract!"

"Fury Cutter!" Knight sliced through the attack, though as it was, Tenta wouldn't have been able to do much damage. Poison-type attacks had no affect and though water-type attacks did regular damage, Alex wasn't worried.

"Water Pulse!"

"Slice it with Fury Cutter!" Tenta winced as the move was easily destroyed by the bug-type attack, though the attack itself wouldn't do much damage to the Water-/Poison-type.

"Attract!" This time Knight was hit and had a heart in his eye. Alex shook his head at falling for it again, but didn't pull his pokemon out. He still had a chance to fight, after all.

"Water Pulse!"

"Defend yourself with Fury Cutter!" Luckily, Knight followed the orders and sliced the Water Pulse, this time with more power, "Get closer!" Knight did so, slicing through any attack that came his way.

"Keep your distance!" Ritchie told Tenta. He didn't have to tell his pokemon twice, as the Tentacool quickly fled. The air of a chase caused by love was around, but it wasn't to last. In its stress of getting away, Tenta ran into a wall and was caught by Knight. The Honedge held the other pokemon close in a loving gesture with his tassel, so tight where Tenta could barely move. The poor pokemon looked a bit scared as it was hugged, the Attract having backfired badly.

"Fury Cutter!" Knight swung and it was a critical, one-hit K.O. As Tenta floated to the ground with swirls in its eyes, Knight blinked and looked around, confused.

"Tentacool is unable to battle! The round goes to Honedge!" said the ref. Alex smiled and shook his head at his confused pokemon as Tenta was returned. Ritchie stared solemnly at his last pokeball before throwing it.

"Go, Schroeder!"

"Vee!" barked the brown and white fox, standing tall in one of the cleared spaces. Curious, Alex brought out his PokeDex.

"Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon. Because of its unstable genetic code, it has the most evolutions of all pokemon, with a total of eight so far. Each has a different set of criteria to meet before the pokemon can evolve and each has a different type, with Sylveon the most recent discovery in its genetic line. The different evolutions are suited to the environment the pokemon lives in, but like all pokemon, Eevee cannot change forms, so if it evolves into one, it will stay that way."

 _Knight's at the disadvantage, but I can't change him out yet. The spikes are still out and they could just help in this battle._ Alex thought.

"Shadow Ball!" Eevee gathered ghost-type energy into a ball and shot it.

"Block with Fury Cutter!" The ball exploded as Knight cut through it easily. Alex frowned, knowing Knight would be weak to the ghost-type move. And, as he thought back, he remembered that Knight had the No Guard ability., which allowed any attack coming from the user or going toward it was always sure to hit. Good thing he had asked Knight to keep blocking instead of dodging, though he did wonder how Knight had managed to dodge before. Speed, perhaps? Or was there another reason? Either way, Alex also couldn't pull Knight out because he still had Fury Cutter built up, especially with Swords Dance attached. If he was taken out, then all that buildup would be wasted. But there was also the very likely possibility that Ritchie would use that to his advantage. Alex wasn't sure how to go on, so he kept silent.

* * *

Paul felt himself smiling as he watched Alex fight. He had gotten a good seat right on the edge of the battlefield, which also had the dangers of a stray attack, but he wasn't worried. Besides, Alex was doing pretty well, considering he didn't have much battling experience. The kid was like a blond version of Ash, in a way, except less in-tune with his emotions. Alex and his pokemon had danced around Ritchie, trying not to hit him head on, and had used their tricks to either anger the opposite pokemon or use their attacks against them. Paul knew that if Alex was stronger and had the chance to fight him, the blond could win. The elder may have had experience on his side, but Alex had good strategy, just like Ash. Maybe Paul could introduce them sometime. That is, if his pride didn't get in the way.

The plumhead frowned when he saw Alex pause, unsure what to do. It was obvious he didn't want to switch out the Honedge, but the pokemon was also at a disadvantage thanks to the Shadow Ball. If it was Paul battling, he would have ignored the disadvantage and kept fighting. Knight had the ability to keep blocking with Fury Cutter, after all, which would be able to protect the pokemon most of the time.

"Sand Attack!" Knight got a face full of sand, especially in his single eye, and Paul shook his head. If the Eevee knew Sand Attack and Alex didn't do anything to stop it, then the blond was going to be in trouble. This was especially bad, since Steel-types were weak to Ground-type moves. Sand Attack wouldn't do any damage, but it would blind a Steel-type more than usual because of the weakness. Paul expected the Honedge to panic because he couldn't see, but to the plumhead's surprise, Knight only floated there, turning back every-so-often to Alex for help. Knight must have known that if he panicked, then he would lose the fight, which was why he was keeping a cool head. Impressive.

* * *

After the Sand Attack, Alex wasn't sure what to do. Knight was effectively blind now and because the Eevee knew Shadow Ball, Alex might have to switch Knight out. But even though the Sword Pokemon was blind, he kept looking back at Alex, where the blond knew he couldn't switch Knight out yet. The Honedge was still ready to fight, he would just need to rely on Alex more.

"Stay where you are and do what I say, Knight." Alex said, "We can do this."

"Edge!"  _(Right!)_  Knight nodded and waited for orders. He trusted Alex's judgement while he was blind. If he didn't, he wouldn't be a good friend, now would he?

"Shadow Ball!"

"Fury Cutter!" Knight slashed and felt the Ghost-type energy slide across his blade as he sliced the ball.

"Keep it up, Schroeder!" The Eevee continued to blast multiple Shadow Balls at Knight.

"Right, Left, Right!" Alex told him which sides the Balls were coming from and Knight punctured them with Fury Cutters. However, one managed to get through and hit Knight. It was supereffective and caused Knight to tumble to the ground. When the Sword Pokemon got up again, he was barely able to stand, so Alex returned and replaced him with Illusion. The Tricky Fox Pokemon had his confidence restored and was now not in love anymore, ready to fight. But Alex could tell Illusion was nervous by how the Dark-type jumped from foot to foot, so he knew he had to calm down the pokemon.

"Baby-Doll Eyes!" The Eevee's eyes became wide and cute-like as they blinked shyly and Alex and Illusion had to resist the urge to hug the Normal-type. Because of this, Illusion's Attack was lowered, as well as his guard.

"Quick Attack!" Illusion was hit as the Eevee switched like Jekyll to Hyde, from the cute Baby-Doll Eyes to the vicious Quick Attack in a blink, "Sand Attack!" Illusion was blinded by the sand kicked into his eyes could could see only half as good as he could before.

"Pursuit!" If this kept up, Alex knew Illusion was done for. Dark energy covered the Zorua but he missed his target. He shook his head, trying to get more sand out of his eyes, but it didn't do much.

"Quick Attack!"

"Block it with Pursuit!" Illusion was once again covered in energy, but he was hit before he could charge. But the Eevee flinched when it jumped away, so Alex knew that Ritchie's pokemon had been hurt just by the contact. Maybe there was a way to use this to his advantage.

"Create some protection and build up your Pursuit!" Illusion nodded and his eyes glowed as both a jungle and a rock dome appeared on the field around him. The Eevee yipped in surprise before suspiciously sniffing the leaves.

"Stop the Zorua! It's only an illusion!" The Normal-type hesitantly nodded and entered the illusion. However, with an even more frightened yip, it ran out, being chased by Illusion. The little Zorua was surrounded by waves and waves of dark energy, making him look frightening. No wonder the Evolution Pokemon had been so scared.

"Rua rua!"  _(Got you!)_  Illusion said and pounced. He managed to land on the Eevee and because he had built up the attack, it did more damage than usual, even bypassing the restriction Baby-Doll Eyes put on him. The Eevee had swirls in its eyes as Illusion clumsily ran back to Alex, almost running past him because of the sand in his eyes.

"Eevee is unable to battle! The round goes to Zorua and Alex wins the fight!" Cheers came from the crowd and Ritchie gave Alex a two-fingered salute after he had returned his pokemon. The blond boy blinked, then returned it with a smile. He hadn't expected to win, and yet he had.

"Rua ru zo zorua zo rua?"  _(Can we go clean up now?)_ Illusion whined, rubbing at his itching eyes with a paw.

"Sure." Survivor (who had been standing beside Alex the whole time) followed behind diligently as they left, the backpack still on his shoulders.

* * *

"Lux." Luxray huffed, "Lu luxra ray ray lux Luxraylu."  _(He didn't even send out Cerberus.)_

"Your son isn't the center of the universe." Volkner could guess what his lion-like friend had said.

"Lu rayray lu."  _(He should be.)_ Volkner shook his head. Alex's battle had just finished and they had watched it from a screen in the waiting room. Rota didn't use much technology, so they were lucky to catch it. As it was, Volkner was up next for the Singles portion of the tournament. And because the dress-up rule extended to everyone, not just regular trainers, the Gym leader was now wearing an outfit stylized after the legendary Raikou. Hearing a beep, Volkner took out his Poketch. The Notification app was open and showing him a crime report.

"Lura?!" Luxray gasped when he saw the picture included in the report. It was the same one that was circulating about that mentioned Alex and his doppelganger.

"...and next up is Volkner, the Sunyshore Gym Leader!"

"Let's look at it later. We've got a battle to get to." The human had been as disturbed as the pokemon when he saw the picture of what looked like Alex in Juniper's lab, but he knew it couldn't be right. The date was off, because how could Alex have gotten from Unova to Kanto so quickly? It didn't make sense, not even if he had a pokemon that could use Teleport. And as far as Volkner knew, Alex didn't have a Pawniard. Maybe he should ask Brandon what was going on...


	16. Rota Arc Pt. 10

"Agh! I can't believe this!" Shauntal was pacing across the floor of the connecting chamber for the Unova Elite Four, "If it wasn't for the fact that this is happening right now, this would be a great plot for a book!"

"Still worried about how we can't find that child?" Marshal asked. He and Caitlin were sitting on the sidelines, watching the Ghost-type trainer pace.

"Of course! Like in a mystery novel, no matter how much you try to find the criminal, you won't find him until the end!" she said, "I just wonder what 'the end' is supposed to entail."

"Hopefully nothing bad." Caitlin yawned, "And where is Grimsley? He would be more suited to finding this mysterious child, wouldn't he?"

"He's still on vacation in Alola." Marshal answered, "But this is only a boy with pokemon who aren't that strong. We should be able to find him with no trouble at all." he looked up at Shauntal, "And why were we given this mission? Shouldn't the police force handle it?"

"They've tried for three weeks." the novel-writer answered in a sigh, "Now several pokemon and their trainers have gone missing besides the robberies, so the police have asked one of us to help in the investigation."

"Do you have an idea of where they disappeared?" Caitlin asked. Shauntal shook her head.

"It's been all over the place. Golurk?"

"Go..." The pokemon that had been standing in the shadows came over, a large map of Unova spread out in its arms. Several places on the map were dotted with colored pushpins.

"You see?" she brushed a hand over the map, careful not to knock off any of the pins, "Each of these pins represents a disappearance from their last known location. Like I said, it's been all over the place in Unova and the police are starting to suspect that the boy who stole from Juniper's lab has something to do with it."

"Why do you say that? Has he left calling cards?" Marshal would have crossed his arms if they hadn't already been crossed.

"Sort of. There have been definitive marks of a Pawniard around the places where they've disappeared to, which is why the police suspect him."

"Are you sure there's no pattern to the map?" Caitlin suddenly asked, "I can see a pattern."

"What?! Where?!" Shauntal went back to looking at the map as Caitlin came closer.

"You can't see it while being that close. Step back a bit." She dragged her friend back to where the Psychic-type trainer had been standing with Marshal and Shauntal soon saw what Caitlin had. When she had looked at them closely, there hadn't been a pattern, but now that she was farther away, the Ghost-type user could see that there  _was_  a pattern to it. It was hard to see, but some of the pins looked like they were forming a direction and together they formed an arrow that was pointing to the west.

"I see it too, but what do you suppose it's pointing at?" Marshal asked.

"The tip, that's right above Chargestone Cave, where the first disappearance happened." Shauntal said, "There have been some strange things happening there too, haven't they?"

"Yes, I believe it was closed off for some reason." Caitlin nodded, "It was too dangerous because the pokemon were getting riled up for some reason. The trainers that used to reside there even said they were practically kicked out by the angry pokemon."

"Maybe that's where the boy is making his home." Marshal said, "But if he's managed to do all this, kidnapping, stealing, and causing trouble, then maybe he's worse than we thought."

"As Grimsley would say, only one way to find out. Ooh, I must add that to my novel!"

"Go..." Golurk shook its head as it followed its master back to her chamber.

"How do you think he's doing?" Caitlin asked once she and Marshal were alone, "I know I shouldn't be worried, but he's been gone a long time."

"He'll be back soon, once he's done with what he's doing." the Fighting-type user assured her.

"But what  _is_  he doing? Why did he leave?"

"Perhaps some soul-searching?" Marshal shrugged, "Only Grimsley can answer that, Caitlin. For now, let's get ready." The younger girl nodded as Marshal left, but was still worried about the missing Elite Four Member. There was no need for Grimsley to be there until the Vertress Conference was held again, but Caitlin still wondered why he had left. Marshal said only Grimsley could answer that, but Caitlin knew there was more to it. She just wondered what it was and when Grimsley would return.

* * *

_"We go together or we don't go down at all, we go together or we don't go down at all..."_

Alex loved his iPod, he really did. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought it had endless memory and held all the music of his world inside it. As it was, he was now listening to  _A Love Like War_  by All Time Low in his room while he waited for the results. He thought he might have won the Rookie Single Battles, but he wasn't quite sure. If he had, then he'd be happy. It would be the first major thing he won here of his own power. And after he knew the results, he would leave with Paul and they would make their way to Cerulean. He had a Gym Leader to fight and a badge to win, after all. Beside him, his pokemon were discussing things, but he didn't pay too much attention, as he wanted to leave them to their own devices.

"Alex?" The blond boy looked up when he heard his name called. It was Sam, who was looking into the room, "Ilene and Brandon want to see you in his room."

"On my way." Alex answered, sitting up from where he had been laying on the bed. Survivor and Illusion took their places on his shoulders as his other pokemon came to his side and they followed Sam out and down the hall.

"Dour do houn hound ho dour?"  _(What do you think he wants?)_  asked Cerberus.

"Don't know, but it might be something important. After all, once the tournament is through, we might not get a chance to see him again." Alex spoke quietly, "He's not as free as you guys and I are, not as free as most of the people here. He's a Frontier Brain, so he's got a job to do and he can't just leave it unexpectedly. No matter how much he probably wants to."

"Here we are." Sam said after they had reached the room. The bandana man gestured ahead and said, "Go on in. I get the feeling that I'm probably not gonna be wanted in there, so good luck."

"Thanks." Alex was suspicious about the remark, making him cautious when he entered. But, as Sam had said, it was only Brandon and Queen Ilene, Mime Jr. and the Rock Regi beside them. Ilene looked as calm as ever while Brandon seemed nervous. Alex gave a courtesy bow to the Queen, knowing his manners.

"You wished to see me?"

"Yes, Alex." Ilene nodded, as did her pokemon, "Brandon and I wish to give you some gifts before you continue on your journey, now that the tournament has almost ended."

"What kind of gifts?"

"Mime mime mime!" _(Here they are!)_ Mime Jr. held out a rolled piece of paper and a fancy badge that reminded Alex of service badges in his world. The badge with in the shape of a tree and there were two white ribbons that hung out from the sides. Alex took both, confused.

"Something troubling has come to my attention from another region that involves you, Alex." she spoke, "Brandon?" The Pyramid King nodded and stood up. In his hands was also another piece of paper, not rolled up.

"This is a wanted poster from the Unova region." he said, "It seems another boy who looks like you has been terrorizing the place, and both of us are afraid that someone might mistake you for him and try to hurt or arrest you. So, we came together and made that note you're holding. It tells others about how you're under the protection of Rota and the Kanto Battle Frontier, accompanied by our badges." Brandon held out his symbol and Alex took it, though he was now  _very_  suspicious.

"Does it say the name of the kid from Unova?" he asked.

"No, there are only pictures and descriptions of what pokemon he has." Brandon then gave him the wanted poster and Alex looked over it.

 _He looks like me, like Julius, but Julius is dead. I shot him dead with my own hands, there's no way he could have survived. He couldn't even have come here because he was dead. I was brought here while I was alive, I'm sure, so there's no way it could be him._  All of this flashed through the blond's mind in seconds as he read the report. And upon seeing the note from the Officer Jenny of Viridian, he gave a small smile and handed the poster back.

"Thanks for showing me this. I'd rather not have the protective gift, but I'd be better off if I took it and I know that, so thank you." Alex took out his badge case and clipped in the Brave Symbol and Badge of Rota, putting it and the note back in his backpack, "But now I need to get going." Everyone was surprised by this, even his own pokemon.

"But will you not stay for the end of the tournament?" Ilene asked, "I was just about to announce the winners."

"And if you're going to Cerulean next, you can't get a badge there without the Gym Leader." Brandon pointed out.

"I'm not going to Cerulean. I'm heading to Unova."

" _No_." Brandon shook his head, instantly knowing what Alex was talking about, "You're not going up there right now, not until this whole thing settles down."

"And if it doesn't?" Alex asked, putting his hands in his pockets (which made him look unintentionally cool), "This isn't going to be put aside so easily, Brandon. I want to do something about this and the only way to do that is to head up there and deal with this imposter."

"Brandon is right, Alex." Ilene spoke softly, which still got his attention despite the volume, "Though I do agree that this will not end soon, you cannot go just yet. If you go to Unova now, you may be mistaken for the other boy and arrested, possibly worse. Our note cannot protect you outside of Kanto and possibly Hoenn, so unless you wish to be locked away for a time, then I suggest you listen and continue your journey through Kanto. I am sure you will get your chance to go to Unova later, but not now." Alex was silent. He knew they both had a point, but he didn't like the idea of a carbon-copy version of him running around. It reminded him too much of Julius, but with the points Ilene made, he knew that she was right. Unless he wanted to be put away for a crime he didn't do, he would have to listen to her advice and stay in Kanto.

"Fine." Alex sighed, backing down, "I'll stay in Kanto."

"Thank you." Brandon sighed quietly in relief.

"Thank you, Alex." Ilene nodded, "As I said, the results of the tournament should be announced in a few minutes, so could you head to the stadium?"

"Right. Thanks." he nodded back and left the room. Once he was gone, Brandon collapsed back on his bed.

"That was a bit easier than I thought it would be, but at least we got through to him." he said, "Thank you for this idea, Ilene. Now I won't be so worried for him."

"Of course, Brandon." she smiled, "Perhaps you could find a way to get time off from your job and travel with Alex. I believe it would do you some good."

"I wish, but there isn't anyone else qualified to be Pyramid King."

"But there are not many people who challenge you these days, is there?" Brandon thought back.

"No, there really aren't. The last person I fought was Paul, back in Sinnoh, and speaking of that," Brandon stood, "Paul asked for a battle once the tournament was over. Regirock and I should get ready."

"Then good luck." she said as the man and his pokemon left the room.

* * *

"Hmm..." A woman was walking through the caverns of Chargestone Cave, a Salamence beside her. It growled and its surroundings and tail-slapped a floating rock, causing it to fly away and attach to a wall. Suddenly a Klink jumped out of them, agitated.

"Flamethrower."

"Grah!" Salamence burnt the poor pokemon to a crisp, causing it to drop to the ground with swirls in its' eyes. The woman and her pokemon stepped over it and continued on their way through the cave. They were quickly stopped again by a Gible, which was strange to see in this place. Salamence growled and prepared a Dragon Pulse, but the woman held out a hand.

"You're supposed to be our guide, right?"

"Gib." the Gible nodded, then gestured for them to follow him, "Gib gib." The woman and her Salamence followed the small Dragon-/Ground-type pokemon deeper and lower into the cave. Soon enough they came to a small portion of the cave where things were different. In that small cove were several floating rocks covered in Electroweb, which had many trainers cornered. Scattered around the cover were paintings and items of various sizes, and dozens of pokeballs were at the feet of a boy sitting on a rock like it was his throne. Beside the boy was a Machop and a Pawniard, the Pawniard holding one of its blades up to an Espeon's neck.

"Nice of you to respond, Hunter J." the boy greeted, "I am Julius Grief."

"You seem to have been busy." J noted, looking at the stuff around them.

"I'm a career criminal, what can I say?" Julius shrugged, "But that's not why I asked you to come. What I want is a job. Blade, my Pawniard, said that you used to sell pokemon on the Black Market all the time."

"Of course. I still do, but I try to keep it a bit more secret now, after last time." J brought up a hand to touch a small scar that disappeared under her visor, "What sort of job are you asking?"

"I get you pokemon from the Unova region to sell, you help me sell some other things I steal, like the paintings and fossils. We share the profit. I might add things later, but that's the agreement so far. Well?"

"And the trainers?" Julius glanced over at his captives, uninterested.

"I'm keeping them here so they won't give me away. And I have no qualms about having to kill them if it comes to that." J raised an eyebrow.

"You sound like you could be more ruthless than I am." Julius shrugged, smiling again.

"Maybe I am. And if you don't mind, we'll need to postpone starting the jobs together until I can find a new hideout, because I'm pretty sure this one has already been found out." Julius stood up and took out a few pokeballs, returning all of his pokemon except for Blade (even returning Espeon and another pokemon that had been in the shadows), "I'll contact you once I'm safe again. For now, you can have all the pokemon that you see here at my feet. I have no use for them and they'll be good on the Black Market." Julius gave one last smile to the trainers before leaving, and J watched as they flinched away in fear of him. Julius couldn't have been no older than they were, so how could they be so scared of him? Was there more to him than she could see? J didn't doubt it, but she did wonder what it was about the blond that was so frightening. As it was she looked around and took out her com, ready to contact her mooks to get all the stuff Julius left behind.

* * *

"The tournament is now over, as you all know." Ilene spoke to the crowd gathered in the stadium, all the competing trainers standing on the battleground in front of her, "It was quite fun for all of us, pokemon and human alike. There were the battles, the music, and many new friendships. But now it has all come to an end, so now I will announce the winners. For the Experienced Single Battles, it was..." Ilene rattled off the names and Alex looked around. He was among the trainers on the battlefield, as well as Paul, Brandon, Misty, Volkner, Maylene, Bruno, and many others. Most of them he didn't know and he felt very alone, though he was surrounded by others.

He drew his attention over to Misty and tried to imagine what he would have to do to defeat her and not feel like he was fighting with Jack, which would be nearly impossible. He knew she used Water-types, so he couldn't use Cerberus or Survivor, as they were both weak to water, leaving him with Scar, Knight, and Illusion. But how could he fight her without wanting to break down?

"...and finally, for the Rookie Single Battles, was Alex Rider!" A big cheer rose up, startling Alex out of his thoughts, and he looked around to see everyone smiling at him and clapping. He blushed but smiled, feeling proud of what he had done. He had barely started his journey, but he had been able to win a portion of a huge tournament. Who  _wouldn't_  feel proud about it?

"Congratulations to all our winners!" Ilene continued, "You may all battle each other if you wish and it will have no effect on the results. And before you leave, all of you will get a small gift for winning the tournament. Everyone who competed will also get their own gifts before they leave, but you may leave now if you wish. I hope you all have a wonderful journey to wherever you go next and may you participate again next year!" Another cheer rose up from everyone and Alex found himself clapping along with them, feeling good. It had been a lot of fun, like she said, and he had a few new friends to go with it. All in all, an entire week of good fun, something he hadn't had in a long time, and he was grateful for the tournament because of this.

"Ready to go?" Paul had come over to him as the trainers dispersed, Torterra beside him.

"You aren't gonna stick around?" Alex released Survivor as well, letting the Cubone sit on his shoulder. Survivor gave a small hello wave to Torterra, where the larger pokemon growled back in friendliness.

"Not really, no. I've already spent enough time here and dealing with you, so I want to head to Cerulean."

"You don't want to get your prize? You and Brandon won the Experienced Double Battles together, after all. And speaking of that, didn't you mention you wanted to fight Brandon again?"

"Yeah, but I've changed my mind." Paul shrugged, "He's a bit too strong for me to fight right now. I want to do a bit more training before taking him on again. As for my prize, I don't really care." Alex rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"You said you wanted to travel with me and I'm staying, so either you go by yourself or wait for me. Which is it going to be, plumhead?" Paul huffed, but didn't leave.

"Fine, I'll stay." Alex smiled.

"Thanks." Alex nodded to his friend before looking around, "I can't believe it's already over, though. The week just flew by."

"I guess."

"Paul!" The plumhead looked up, as did Alex, and instantly recognized the voice.

"Oh h*ll no..." he growled under his breath, closing his eyes and hoping to Arceus that it wasn't his older brother who was now coming towards them.

"Who's that?"

"Reggie, my brother." Paul sighed, resigning himself to not being able to get out of what was to come.

"Hey, Paul! Nice surprise, huh?" Reggie asked once he was with them, "And are you Paul's new rival?"

"Rival?" Alex gave the younger brother a glance, "No, just a friend."

"I don't have friends." Paul said.

"Torterra." Alex pointed at the large pokemon.

"He's my partner."

"Your friend. Try convincing me otherwise, I dare you." Paul growled at Alex's very true point.

"Wow. I haven't seen you get this riled up with anyone except Ash or Dawn." Reggie turned to Alex, "You've got skills, kid."

"Thanks, but I don't get why you don't want friends." Alex directed the last part of the question at Paul. The meaner trainer said nothing in response, only turning away.

"He's just like that, don't mind him." Reggie held out a hand, "I'm Reggie, by the way. Paul's older brother."

"I'm Alex, nice to meet you." Something suddenly occurred to the blond, something he had heard from Paul when he and Brandon had been trying to be friends with him again. Paul had said he was an orphan, hadn't he? Both he and Reggie were orphans, so the older of the two must have had a hard time making ends meet and helping Paul grow up. Alex didn't mean to, but he felt a pang of sympathy towards them. He didn't quite know the struggle, seeing as he had been raised by adults, but Jack had been like a sister to him, so he guessed he sort of knew how they felt.

"He was planning to head off as soon as the tournament was done, but I managed to convince him to stay." the blond added, "I didn't want him to miss out on his prize and nor do I want to miss on mine. They might actually be useful for what's ahead."

"You must be good if you can do that." Reggie slung an arm around Paul, forcing the younger to turn back to them with a scowl, "See, the grump-lump here ain't exactly friendly, so I just find it surprising he's listening to you at all."

"Not that surprising." Paul growled, "I listen to others all the time, I just chose not to follow what they say most of the time."

"Uh huh..." It was quite obvious Reggie didn't believe him.

"If you two are brothers, how much of an age gap do you have?" Alex was honestly curious about it.

"About 5 years. I'm 21, he's 16." Reggie gave a smile, "We were really close, once upon a time."

"I can see that." Alex noted with a hint of disbelief, possibly also with sarcasm. It was hard to believe those two were or had ever been close with how Paul was treating his older brother.

"Cu?" Survivor had been hiding behind Alex since Reggie had arrived and finally made a sound as he poked his head out from behind his trainer.

"Well, hello there!" Reggie greeted, holding out a hand after letting Paul go, "May I?"

"Sure." Reggie then began to rub Survivor's head gently.

"Cu bone bone cub bonecu!"  _(I like this guy already!)_  said the Ground-type in glee, leaning into Reggie's touch.

"Wow. He really likes me, doesn't he?"

"I'm not surprised. You're a great guy, from what I've seen so far."

"Alex Rider, please come to the throne room." came a voice over the speakers installed in the stadium.

"Looks like I'm getting my prize now." Alex said as Survivor sadly pulled away, "It was nice meeting you, Reggie."

"You too, Alex. See you later!" Reggie waved goodbye to the teen as Alex left, leaving the two brothers and Torterra alone.

"Traveling with him?" Reggie asked of Paul. The little brother gave a small grunt but nodded, "He's a nice kid. Reminds me of a wiser Ash, in a way."

"A lot of people seem to think the same way." Paul muttered, "And what are you doing here? Is it just for me or did you want to see Maylene too?"

"A bit of both," Reggie shrugged, "but mostly you. We haven't seen each other in person for a while now, since you started going back through the regions. I also heard Brandon is here, so are you going to challenge him?"

"I've asked to fight him after the tournament is over, but now I'm not so sure. He's stronger than last time."

"So are you." Reggie shot back, "Maybe you'll beat him this time." Paul snorted.

"Yeah right. And where do you think  _you're_  going?" The second half was directed at Torterra, who was now leaving.

"To tor Terrato. Era terrator tor torterra era terra to to era!"  _(To see Brandon. I'm fighting him whether you want to or not!)_ rumbled the Continent pokemon, not stopping at all.

"Fine." Paul said, then turned to Reggie, "Want to see me lose again? He wants to go fight Brandon right now, and it's not like I can stop him when he gets in a mood like this."

"Sure, but I bet you'll win."

"We'll see..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Grimsley appears in Alola when you're about to take on Team Skull in Po Town, which is why he's "on vacation."
> 
> 2\. There may be some discrepancy for the last few chapters about the Final Four in the tournament, but I hope it isn't too bad.


	17. Rota Arc Pt. 11

“Hello, Alex.” Ilene gave him a smile when he entered the throne room, “I am proud of your accomplishments. You've done well in the tournament. Have you ever been in one before?”

“No. This was my first time, so thanks.” the boy blushed from the praise. He rarely got any anymore, but it wasn't like he really got any from anyone other than Jack, Tom, or Sabina. And it had been a long time since he had seen any of them, especially Jack, as he would never see her again. That saddened him, but he tried not to show it to the queen.

“Impressive. And I am sorry we don't have much to offer, but here are your prizes.” An aide stepped forward and held out two items. One was a small green sack on a string and the other was a red and yellow arm band, “These are some Bright Powder and a Focus Band. The Bright Powder lowers an opponent's accuracy and the Focus Band sometimes prevents a pokemon from being knocked out.” Alex took the items gratefully, holding each in his hands. He didn't quite understand how such uninteresting items had great powers, like Survivor's Thick Club, but he knew these would be helpful.

“Thank you, Queen Ilene.” Alex bowed, as did Survivor, who was still on his shoulder.

“No trouble at all, Alex. And when you leave, may you have a safe and wonderful journey.”

“Thanks.” Alex smiled back and left, wondering which of his pokemon he could give the items to.

“Survivor, you don't need any other items because your Thick Club is specially made for Cubones and Marowaks, and Cerberus has his Houndoominite, which I need to put on him later, so that leaves Illusion, Scar, and Knight.” Alex held out the items, “Who do you think should get what?”

“Cub bone bone cu Cucubo Bonecu cu Cubonecu.” _(You could give the Bright Powder to Illusion.)_ said Survivor, “Bo bo cub bo bo, cu cu cubone bo cu bonecu, bo bone cubo cu bone cucu.” _(Out of all of us, he's the fastest on the ground, so that lets him dodge more.)_

“Good point.” Alex nodded, “What about the Focus Band?”

“Cucu Bonebo? Cu bo bone cubonebone cubo Cubo.” _(Maybe Knight? He has more weaknesses than Scar.)_

“He also has more immunities.” Alex sighed, “This is going to be harder than I thought. Maybe I should ask them what they think.” Survivor only shrugged in response. He knew it was up to Alex to decide what he thought was best for them, after all. Alex suddenly turned around and nearly threw Survivor off of his shoulders.

“Bone!” squawked the Lonely pokemon before he managed to right himself, “Cubo cub bone bo?!” _(What was that for?!)_

“Sorry, just...” Alex gazed around the empty hall behind them, “I keep getting the feeling we're being watched, but I don't know. It comes and goes and it's driving me mad.” he shook his head, “Let's just go meet up with the others. It's not important.” He then continued walking down the hall and soon the two were gone. A few moments passed before a young girl peeked out from behind a pillar. She had long red hair hanging in a braided ponytail on one side and wore strange, armor-like clothes. She ducked behind the pillar again and brought her arm up to her face, where there was a communicator built into it.

“Dulse?” she spoke, “I think I've found the Dimension Rider.”

* * *

“I believe I am starting to regret accepting you two.” Yasha sighed as Crown and Ninja chased each other around the fire. Those two hadn't gotten along right from the start and Yasha was truly starting to regret his decision of accepting the two starters from the professors.

“Ar aron on.” _(You said it.)_ Ore dully agreed, watching the two as well. It was late at night after they had finally stopped to rest in the Petalburg Woods. Yasha had no idea where they were going, but he didn't care at the moment. It was not often he got a chance to do something for himself, such as explore. And, seeing as he had no jobs or obligations, he saw no reason why he couldn't do what he wanted. It had been much too long since he had done something for himself, so he was enjoying this, even though he was taking care of others. Suddenly the two starters squeaked and ran to Yasha, looking frightened. Confused but tense at this strange change in behavior, Yasha reached over to his bag and took out a small handgun.

“What is it?” he whispered to them as Ore straightened up, ready for a fight.

“Charar/Froak!” _(Ghost!)_ they both said. This confused Yasha a bit, as there were no such things as ghosts. This was what he was thinking until a skull cloaked in a small gray hood floated out of the darkness. Behind the two eye sockets was a single red orb that wandered between the two sockets, but was focused on the human and other pokemon.

“Dus.” _(Hi.)_ it greeted quietly, then floated down to sit beside the fire. It ignored the stares it was getting and just stared at the fire calmly.

“...May I ask what you are doing here?”

“Ku skull dus dusku.” _(I haunt the forest.)_

“Are you bored?”

“Kull.” _(Yes.)_

“Would you, perhaps, like to come with us?”

“Dusk.” _(Sure.)_ And that was how Yasha caught the strange pokemon, which he later learned was a Duskull and named it Dusk. Unimaginative, but he couldn't just keep calling the pokemon by its full name all the time, you know.

* * *

Alex was searching the castle, trying to find either Paul or Brandon for help on choosing who should get the Focus Band, when suddenly the place shook, like there had been an explosion. Alex grabbed Survivor as he fell on his back, unable to keep his balance. Screams came from outside and the boy looked around, frightened as his survival instincts kicked in. There was a window nearby, hopefully it could tell him what was going on. As he got to his feet, Alex wondered if this was another ploy by Team Rocket to grab pokemon. But, as _something_ crawled through the window, he was sure that wasn't the case.

It looked like a clown of some kind, with a ruffled collar and bright colors, but the head was weird. It was just a floating white ball with pink and blue fizzing dots on it. Alex backed away as Survivor whimpered in his arms, getting the feeling that if he and his pokemon tried to fight this thing, they would be _way_ out of their league. It sauntered toward him in a strange gait, swaying its hips like it was flaunting itself, and then its head rolled down to rest in its palm, where it held its head towards Alex. The blond was not fooled by these antics and fled, running as fast as he could. The strange clown creature (it was certainly no Mr. Mime) gave a screech and went after him.

Alex was forced to skid to a stop when the thing suddenly dropped down from the ceiling in front of him. The thing juggled its head before throwing it at Alex, and there was a hiss as if the head had a fuse attached to it.

“Gunk Shot!” But then suddenly a large amount of sludge was fired at the head, forcing it away from Alex, where it then exploded. The clown thing growled again as its head reappeared in its hands and a small purple and pink creature floated in front of Alex, growling right back.

“Venom Drench!” the same voice as before commanded. The little pink-purple dragon lowered its head and more dark gunk spurted out of one of the spikes on its head at the clown thing, drenching it. The clown thing gave one more shriek before it fled down the hall with impossible speed.

“Are you okay?” asked a voice from behind. Alex whipped around to see a young girl with red hair in a braided tail and strange clothes holding her hand out to him. The pink-purple dragon floated beside her and gave a giggle, possibly at the look on Alex's face.

“Ah, thanks.” he took her hand hesitantly and she helped him to his feet, “What _was_ that thing?”

“An Ultra Beast named Blacephalon.” she said, “I'm Zossie, by the way, and this is Poipole.”

“Poi!” greeted the pokemon, waving a small arm. Survivor waved back kindly.

“An Ultra Beast? But I only thought Pokemon existed here...”

“They do. Ultra Beasts come from other worlds and I came here to help deal with it. Here, come with me.”

“Alright...” She dragged him over to the window where Blacephalon had come in and pointed outside. In the sky was some sort of grid-pattern cone-shaped crack, glowing white and ominous. On the ground Alex could see what looked like a walking tower and a giant, muscled red bug terrorizing the place, trainers and pokemon fighting against them.

“Is there a way to stop this?” he asked her.

“Yes, but we need to round up the Ultra Beasts and put them back though the portal.” Zossie looked slightly scared as she looked at the grid-cone-thing in the sky, “I only hope these are the only Ultra Beasts we have to deal with.”

“How strong are they?”

“Much too strong for you, certainly.” Alex narrowed his eyes.

“And why is that?”

“Your pokemon friends are too weak to fight the Ultra Beasts right now, but I'm sure that won't be a problem as you get stronger.” Zossie gave him a smile, “As it is, here.” She held out a blue pokeball covered in light blue lines, “This is a Beast Ball, made to capture Ultra Beasts, but it holds a pokemon that can help you round them up.” Alex hesitantly took it.

“Why? Don't you need it more than me?”

“Not right now, Poipole and I can handle ourselves.” she gave him a nod, as did the little purple/pink dragon-imp, “Good luck!” Zossie then ran away with Poipole following her, leaving Alex and Survivor alone.

“Why me? Why is it always me?” Alex sighed, rubbing his face, then turned to Survivor, “Ready?” He was resigned to his fate, as he knew he hadn't been given any other choice.

“Cu cub bone bo.” _(As I'll ever be.)_ said the pure Ground-type.

“Right.” Alex threw the pokeball into the air, saying, “I choose you!” Instantly the ball opened and out came a giant pokemon, barely able to fit in the hall. It was huge and bat-like with white and yellow highlights. Its main body seemed to be made of the stars itself as it twinkled in the light. It leaned its head down to look at him as it flapped its wings, purring as the red eyes shone brightly.

“Luna na ala nala?” _(What do you need?)_ it asked in a feminine voice.

“Zossie said you could help us round up the Ultra Beasts.” Alex explained.

“Na lunala!” _(Of course!)_ it said, then dipped its head farther down, “Lun na!” _(Hop on!)_ Survivor tightened his hold on Alex as the boy climbed onto the large pokemon's shoulders, the tiny pokemon closing his eyes tightly. He didn't like flying, not one bit.

“What's your name?” Alex asked, curious about the pokemon he was going to be riding.

“Lunala.” was all it said before taking off down the hall, barely fitting with its large wings. As they flew, Alex tried scanning Lunala.

“Lunala, the Moone Pokemon. A Legendary pokemon, it is one of two that actually evolves from another pokemon, the only other being Solgaleo, its counterpart.” spoke the PokeDex, “It is said to be a female evolution of Cosmog. When its third eye activates, away it flies to another world, sometimes bringing other lifeforms back with it. It is also said to devour light, drawing the moonless dark veil of night over the brightness of day. Records of it exist in writings from long, long ago, where it was known by the name 'the beast that calls the moon.'” Alex blinked and looked at Lunala. He had only heard of Legendary pokemon, so finding himself actually riding one was a big surprise.

It didn't take long before they caught up to the Blacephalon, which was literally running circles around Reggie, Paul, and their pokemon, a large boastful crow-like pokemon (Alex remembered that it was called a Honchkrow) and a beaver-like pokemon.

“Water Pulse!” Reggie commanded. The beaver pokemon stood up on its hind legs and built up a condensed ball of water between its paws. Just as it was about to fire, Blacephalon brought up a glassy wall of yellow, which blocked the attack. If it had a tongue, Alex was sure the Ultra Beast would have stuck it out at Reggie and the beaver pokemon.

“Defog!” Paul said and Honchkrow flapped its wings towards the glassy wall, which broke apart upon contact with the small gust.

“Lunaaa!” suddenly cried Lunala, shooting out a beam of dark energy. Blacephalon managed to dodge and let out a shriek, running away from the giant bat-like Legendary. Lunala chased after it, swooping over the heads of human and pokemon alike. Alex looked back to find the brothers staring after him in shock and surprise, where he could only lift a hand in a wave.

* * *

Paul and Reggie had been minding their own business when the quake happened. They had held on to Torterra, who was the only one steady through the whole thing, and looked around once everything was quiet.

“What was that?” Reggie asked, taking out a pokeball and opening it. Out came his Bibarel, ready for a fight if necessary.

“Don't know, but it didn't sound good.” Paul said, “Torterra, you should get back in your ball.” He didn't want his partner getting hurt, which was very possible because of how slow Torterra was. Usually he wouldn't mind leaving Torterra out to battle, but he was uneasy and got the feeling it would be a bad idea to let his partner fight.

“Tor tor.” _(I'm fine.)_ said the large pokemon, if a bit nervous.

“Either way, we need to move. The castle could be unstable after that quake.” Reggie said. He was just about to move forward when they saw something at the end of the hall, heading quickly toward them. It was some sort of crazy clown-like pokemon they had never seen before and they didn't like the way it was slithering about. Torterra and Bibarel gave growls to show their displeasure at seeing the strange pokemon. And when it _detached its head_ and threw it towards them, they knew that this was a fight. Torterra, being a walking fortress and afraid of what was going to happen, moved quickly, running forward to cover the sizzling white head so his friends wouldn't be harmed.

“Torterra, wait!” Paul tried to go after his pokemon but Reggie pulled him back. It was then that the head exploded under Torterra's body, hitting his vulnerable belly and causing a critical hit. And as Fire-type moves were supereffective to him, the move caused a one-hit KO to the Continent pokemon. Torterra collapsed with swirls in his eyes and smoke coming out from under him, showing them just how powerful the approaching pokemon was.

“Return.” Reggie watched as his little brother returned his partner, Paul's hand shaking. It must have come as a shock to see his starter beaten so quickly, not to mention the sacrifice Torterra was willing to go through to make sure Paul wouldn't be hurt. No matter how cold Paul himself was, his partner certainly had a big heart, that was for sure.

“He'll be fine once we get him to a Pokemon Center.” the elder spoke quietly, “Right now, we need to get away.”

“Honchkrow, standby for battle!” Paul threw the pokeball into the air with a ferocity Reggie hadn't seen before and out came the Big Boss pokemon. Honchkrow glanced back at Paul, giving him a nod before squawking angrily at the clown-like pokemon. The strange pokemon was soon upon them, running circles around them as if it thought it was superior, which it probably was.

“Water Pulse!” Bibarel built up the attack and was ready to fire when the strange pokemon brought up a Light Screen to block it. Reggie could hear Paul's growl before the younger commanded the flying pokemon into the next attack.

“Defog!” The gusts made by the attack broke the Light Screen into pieces, where they could now get a good shot at the other pokemon. If it used its head attack again, though, then they didn't think they'd be able to survive it again. Suddenly, a beam of dark energy shot out from over their heads, barely missing the clown-like pokemon. It gave a shriek and fled, where a giant pokemon flew over their heads, causing them to duck. They looked up again to see the giant bat-like pokemon chasing the clown-like pokemon while Alex and his Cubone rode the bat-like pokemon. Apparently Alex could see them from where he was perched because he raised a hand to wave at them before he was flown too far away to see. The brothers were frozen for a moment, but then Paul got up and began running after them, as well as Honchkrow.

“Paul!” Reggie and Bibarel got up to chase after them, worried for how Paul was acting. Torterra had been defeated before and it hadn't affected his younger brother much, if at all, so the way he was acting now (vengeful and angry) was a bit OOC. Reggie supposed it could be because of the sudden attack on them and Torterra's sacrifice, which made sense, but he just hoped that Paul wasn't bent on revenge even after the pokemon was defeated. Yes, it was an attack out of nowhere, but that didn't give anyone the right to beat up a pokemon until it was dead. The thought caused Reggie to shiver, so he threw it away and focused on catching up to his brother and stopping Paul before he made a big mistake that he would later regret.

* * *

“Re Gi!” At Brandon's command, Regirock punched the tower-like pokemon with a Focus Punch. The mysterious pokemon blew apart at the punch before the small squares with eyes came back together to form the tower once again. However, the Focus Punch seemed to have done a lot of damage, as the tower now looked unsteady and ready to collapse, stumbling slightly on the thin legs. Just before Regirock could make the finishing blow, however, the giant red bug got between then and defended the tower-like pokemon. The bug buzzed a growl, daring Regirock to attack. Other trainers had also brought the pokemon out and now the two strange pokemon were surrounded. The bug looked nervously around, then turned to the tower and buzzed something. The tower groaned in response before splitting into pieces and floating through the tear in the sky, one piece at a time. It seemed the two strangers were finally retreating after the destruction they had caused and once all of the tower was gone, the bug jumped in after it.

“Good riddance!” said Misty.

“But the portal's not closing.” Volkner pointed out, “And I think another one of those beasts came out of the portal, which means there's still one left.”

“Then where did it go?” questioned Maylene.

“Car?” Lucario turned his head, sensing something as the feelers on his head straightened out. “Lucariocar cariolu!” _(Something's coming!)_ He tensed, ready for a fight, and the other pokemon followed his example. Before they could do anything, though, a clown-like pokemon ran with great speed over their heads and jumped into the portal, being chased by a large, bat-like pokemon. After the clown was gone, the bat flew to a stop just feet from the portal before glowing brightly and causing the portal to close. It lowered itself closer to the ground and leaned down, letting Alex and Survivor off. Alex was nervous, unsure of what they would think of him now, but it wasn't his fault. All he did was ride Lunala and help guide it to follow the Blacephalon, he didn't even want to get involved in the first place. Where was Zossie? She said that Lunala would help him gather the Ultra Beasts and now they were all gone, so now it was time to return Lunala to her (and hopefully save him from all the staring).

Alex blinked when he felt something suddenly cover his head and turned to see that Survivor had put his jacket hood up, probably to help protect him from the stares. This gave Alex an idea of how to get away, though it would probably make his friends angry. He suddenly bolted, only making a single motion backwards to return Lunala, and disappeared into the crowd. Confusion was immediate.

“Alex?!” Brandon was now worried and chased after the boy. Why had Alex been riding that pokemon, let alone why did he run away? He knew it was rude to stare, but to know Alex had such a grand pokemon with him made it hard not to. Regirock was forced to follow, trying to keep up with his faster master. It was hard for him to follow with all the humans and pokemon in the way, and when he finally caught up to Brandon, Alex was gone.

“Re rock gi gire.” _(I'm sure he's fine.)_ said Regirock.

“Yeah, I guess.” Brandon murmured, “But why would he hide that pokemon from us? I mean, everyone has their secrets, but it makes no sense why he would hide this one.”

* * *

After seeing the clown pokemon disappear back into the portal, Reggie had set to work on healing Torterra with the help of Rota's Nurse Joy. Paul could only watch from nearby as his partner was healed and he hated not being able to do anything. Honchkrow was by his side, standing beside the chair Paul was sitting in and looking up at his trainer with worry. Usually he kept his emotions in check, as did the rest of Paul's pokemon, but seeing how much this strange attack shook Paul had also shaken his pokemon. Not only was Torterra their strongest friend, but seeing Paul so broken down because of the attack made his pokemon worry about him. In fact, if he wasn't afraid of the consequences, Honchkrow would be snuggling up to Paul to help him.

“It's my fault.” Paul suddenly murmured, moving his hands to cover his face, “I didn't return him in time and this is what I get.”

“Owho...” Honchkrow said his trainer's name quietly and moved closer, nudging Paul with the brim of his feather-formed hat. Paul looked up to see Honchkrow and the pokemon gave a small trill of reassurance, causing his trainer to smile slightly and rub the Big Boss pokemon's head.

“Thanks.” Paul murmured, “I needed that.” Despite the words, Honchkrow could tell his trainer was still depressed and probably still blamed himself for what happened, which he had no control over. Honchkrow wished Dawn were here so she could talk (or smack) some sense into Paul, even Ash and Brock could do it, just as long as Paul learned that what Torterra did, saving them from the attack, was most certainly _not_ the human's fault. Hearing footsteps, Honchkrow looked away from Paul to see Reggie approaching at last. The older brother took a seat on the other side of Paul and spoke.

“Torterra's going to be fine. The attack was really powerful, though, so he's going to be left with a scar, but he'll be just fine.” Reggie put an arm around Paul's shoulders, “How are you holding up?”

“None of your business.” The younger's voice was filled with bitterness, not showing the same kindness to his own brother like he had to Honchkrow.

“Well, what do you think was up with Alex?” Reggie changed the subject, “Why do you think he hid that pokemon from us?” Paul was quiet as he thought over it.

“I don't think he originally had that pokemon.” Paul admitted slowly, “I think that someone gave him that pokemon when the attack began. He didn't seem too comfortable with it when he was in the courtyard, not to mention fleeing.”

“Maybe he fled because he didn't trust us.” Reggie said, “Or maybe because he was afraid. I only hope that we see him again so we can be friends.”

“Maybe...” Paul didn't show it, but he was just as worried about Alex as Reggie. The boy had PTSD, that much Paul knew for sure, and didn't like letting anyone in. Paul knew Alex wanted to be alone right now, but didn't think it was the best choice for the blond.

“Also, there was another reason I came here.” Reggie reached into his dark green jacket and pullet out a package. He handed it to Paul, “It's from Barry and I thought it would give me a chance to see you while you're out, since we don't see each other much.”

“Thanks...” Paul took the package and opened it. He wondered what could be in it, as he hadn't heard from Barry in a while. The other boy had gone on to Unova after training a bit more in Sinnoh, sort of like he was going in Ash's footsteps. Inside the package was a note and a wrist device, sort of like a Poketch but not quite.

“ _Dear Paul,_ ” said the letter, “ _Unova is AWESOME! I made a new friend and she introduced me to this thing called an Xtransceiver, which is like a Poketch but lets you talk face-to-face and with more than one person! I got you one in case you wanted to talk again! Signed, Barry_ ”

“An Xtransceiver, huh?” Paul held up the strange device, “I'm fine with my PokeGear, but maybe Alex would like this...”

* * *

 “Where were you?” Alex growled lowly when he had finally found Zossie again. He had nearly run out of the city when he had found her and Poipole again.

“I'm sorry, but no one can know about me.” Zossie really did look sorry as she and Poipole bowed their heads, “But as it is, you can keep Lunala.”

“What? Why? Isn't she your pokemon?” Alex was getting tired of calling Lunala an 'it' and since it had a feminine voice, he decided to start calling the Moone pokemon a 'she.'

“Sort of. She is one of two pokemon that help me and a friend cross between worlds. However, I think it might be better to leave her in your hands, just in case something happens.”

“So you're going to contact your friend so you can go home now?”

“Not just yet. When I get out of Rota, but not now. And there's something else.” Zossie met Alex's angry eyes, “Have you heard of the legend of the Dimension Rider?”

“No, not at all.”

“The Dimension Rider is a being from my world who works with Lunala and Solgaleo to keep the Ultra Beasts under control. He's become a legend now, but I think you might be the new Dimension Rider.”

“What if I don't want to do this?” Alex crossed his arms, “You don't know what I've been through, being manipulated and used by people who I couldn't trust and even those who I thought I trusted. What if I don't want to take Lunala with me and save the world?”

“Then bad things will happen.” Zossie said, “You have a choice with this, Alex, but the consequences may be dire. You saw what the Ultra Beasts are able to do, taking on a group of tough trainers and able to destroy part of a castle. If there had been more than those three, things would have been very different.”

“Maybe, but I don't want this.” Alex took out Lunala's pokeball and held it out, “You be the Dimension Rider, not me.”

“I can't.” Zossie shook her head, “Besides, I think she likes you. I asked her before I gave you to her and Lunala herself believes you might be the Dimension Rider. I can't go against that, you know?” Alex glared at her as Survivor hung off his shoulder, then sighed and tucked Lunala away.

“I'll keep her with me, but that doesn't mean I'll do it.” Alex spoke quietly, knowing he was defeated, “I'm just a man, I'm not a hero.”

“I know that.” Zossie agreed, “There's no one else I would think would be able to do the job. You don't have to be on watch all the time, only make a move when something's happened. Otherwise, just live your life.”

“What life?” Alex muttered, trying to keep it low where she wouldn't hear, then turned away and walked off. He was leaving now, there was no reason for him to stay. He might as well go on to Cerulean. Zossie and Poipole watched him leave, the small purple pokemon frowning like his partner and making a sad noise.

“I'm sure things will be fine.” Zossie assured Poipole, even though she wasn't so sure herself, “I really think Alex can do this. If Lunala believes in him, then he might just be the hero we need, even if he doesn't want to be it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've added some Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon into the fray and Alex officially has a Legendary on his team! In the Pokemon World, I know that you can only have 6 at a time on your team, but it's different with Alex, Yasha, and Julius, which will be explained in a later chapter. There's also an MCR reference, if you can spot it!
> 
> If there are any errors, tell me and I'll fix them, or if you need something explained, I'll put it in this AN if you point it out to me. I hope you guys like this chapter!


	18. Cerulean City and Nugget Bridge

It had begun to rain shortly after Alex and left Rota and now he was running through the rain, keeping Survivor close to his chest. The Cubone hated water and was snuggling under Alex's jacket, giving a whine of fear. Alex wished he had an umbrella or even stayed in Mt. Moon, but the setting day hadn't looked all that bad. Of course, just before he was to get ready for bed, the storm suddenly came up.

As Alex ran, he saw various pokemon out in the weather, dancing in the rain. There were groups of round blue mice that squeaked and giggled, giant blue tadpoles waddling along, and a fish-like fox who watched him run. Presumably they were all Water-types who didn't mind the rain and Alex wished he could ask them directions to a piece of shelter, but he didn't want to spend too long out here, more than he had to.

He was taken out of his thoughts as he looked to the side to see two spiky, rat-like pokemon. One was blue and the other was pink, where they both looked to be shaking and shivering, as if sick. Alex stopped running and frowned, feeling that they needed help.

“Cub cu cu bone?” _(Why did you stop?)_ asked Survivor.

“Hang on a second.” said Alex and ventured over to the two pokemon. One of them looked up, the pink one, and when it saw him approaching, it growled and got to its feet. The blue one squeaked pitifully and Alex knew he had to help them somehow.

“It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you.” he knelt and held out a hand once he was close enough. He got close enough so that they wouldn't have to venture far from one another. The pink one quieted and slowly came closer. It sniffed his hand and looked up at him, curious. Survivor peeked out of Alex's jacket to look at the pokemon and when he saw what Alex was doing, he communicated to the other pokemon.

“Bobo cubone bone cu cubo cu bo bone cubone. Bo bone cubo cu bone.” _(Alex doesn't want to hurt you or your friend. He just wants to help.)_ said Survivor. The pink pokemon glanced between them before it trotted back to its friend and nudged it. The blue one blinked open its eyes slowly and whined. Alex took pity on them and gently came closer, slowly bringing his hands closer to pick up the blue one. The pink one growled until Alex took another hand to pink it up, too. Now the two pokemon were tucked under his jacket with Survivor, away from the rain. The spikes of the two other pokemon dug into Alex's chest and he winced, but didn't remove them. He wanted them to be safe, so he would have to take the pain.

“Let's go.” Alex told them and continued running again. Eventually they came across a cave filled with other pokemon taking refuge from the storm, where Alex let the two pokemon go. The pink one hopped out easily but the other was sluggish and Alex frowned.

“Is your friend sick?” he asked, to which the pink one nodded. Alex frowned, as he didn't know anything about taking care of pokemon, but he knew he had to try. He released his other pokemon and asked them to help.

“Honed ho hon ed ed edge ho honed.” _(Check to see if it has a fever.)_ suggested Knight. Alex sat down and took the blue pokemon into his arms and touched its forehead, finding it to be warm.

“Definitely a fever.” he said, then coughed. He felt himself getting weak and wondered whether he was also coming down with something from being in the rain for so long. His pokemon made discontented noises and got closer to him, wondering what was wrong.

“Ni nido do rando nidoran ni.” _(I hope we didn't poison you.)_ said the pink pokemon in a squeak.

“Poison?” Alex asked, where the pink one nodded.

“Do nidoran ran ni, do ni Nidoran.” _(My friend and I, we are Nidoran.)_ it said, “Do ni nido ranni nidoranran.” _(We are also quite poisonous.)_

“Oh.” Alex said quietly, “It doesn't matter. You guys are safe now.” He smiled and found he didn't mind the fact that he was possibly poisoned. Having someone in his life, even though they were only Pokemon, seemed to make him care more than he realized. He glanced up to see the other pokemon in the cave had come closer, curious about the human in their midst. The ground suddenly began to shake slightly and Alex looked for the source until he saw a large pokemon coming out from deeper in the cave. He tried to keep his eyes open but he couldn't control himself as they slid shut, bringing him into oblivion.

* * *

**PokeSpeak:**

“Alex!” cried his pokemon as he slumped over. Cerberus licked his face as Illusion nudged him, trying to get him to wake up. Scar was stonefaced but also worried and looked over to the pink Nidoran.

“This is your fault.” he growled, “You and your friend poisoned Alex.”

“I have no control over my ability and neither does my friend!” defended the Nidoran, “We would have been fine in the rain if your human had not decided to help us!”

“Calm yourselves.” rumbled a voice. Out of the shadows came a large Venusaur, “You cannot change what happened and no one wanted to hurt each other. Here are some Pecha berries for the human.” Venusaur stretched out a vine and curled up in its grip were several of the poison-curing berries, “As for your friend, Nidoran, I believe she only needs some rest to get well.”

“Yes sir.” Nidoran nodded and sat down beside Alex, worried eyes for his blue friend. Survivor walked to Venusaur and took the berries from the vine.

“Thank you.” he said with a nod, then went back over to Alex. He broke the berries in half and then into smaller pieces, glancing up to Alex. The human's condition seemed to be getting worse and Survivor wondered how they would be able to get the berry into Alex if he was passed out. He mentioned this to the others.

“Well, I think you can just put it in his mouth, tilt his head back, and massage his throat to help it go down.” said Illusion, “I saw Prof. Oak and the boys do it sometimes when another pokemon was sick and they couldn't eat right.”

“It's worth a shot.” noted Cerberus and the pokemon got to work. Knight floated up and used his tassel to tilt Alex's head back, Scar took the tiny pieces of Pecha to feet to Alex in his beak, and Illusion put his paws on the human's neck. He was the only one who had an idea of how to do it, so it was going to be his job. Then they began to try it, with Scar putting a piece of the berry into Alex's mouth before Illusion massaged his throat, and to their surprise, it seemed to work. After getting such a good response, the pokemon continued to feed Alex until all parts of the berries were gone, and then they let him go. Now they had to wait to see if he would get better, and knowing they could do nothing else, they cuddled up to him, fear in their hearts for their friend. The rest of the pokemon in the cave had watched the exchange, including Venusaur. The huge pokemon saw that they were not going to sleep anytime soon and knew they would need it, so it turned to some Butterfree.

“Could you please use Sleep Powder on them?” it asked. The Butterfree nodded and flew over Alex and his pokemon, spreading the powder until the whole group was asleep. Venusaur made sure they were asleep before it stretched its vines and took the blue Nidoran out of Alex's arms.

“Let us leave them.” he commanded, there the pokemon followed it deeper into the cave and the human and his pokemon friends were left alone.

**PokeSpeak End**

* * *

Slowly, Alex blinked open his eyes, feeling bodies leaning on him. He saw his pokemon sleeping against him and smiled before looking out of the cave, finding the storm to be gone and sunlight starting to shine through, as another day was just beginning. He remembered things from yesterday up until coming to the cave, where he remembered blacking out. But now he felt much better, so he wondered if he had been cured somehow. Moving his hands, he grabbed for his pokeballs and returned all of his pokemon, even Survivor, before he checked his backpack and stood. He left the cave and shaded his eyes and the rising sun went higher, getting into his sight-line.

“I don't know what happened last night,” he spoke quietly to himself, “But to whoever helped me, thanks.” Alex began making his way back to the main path so that he could keep going to Cerulean. Because of his running through the rain, he had crossed a bit of distance more than he thought he would, so he supposed he was almost there. He was right, as when he crossed over a hill, he found himself looking down on a town that wasn't attached to a port but full of water, with fountains and a river running right beside the place. With the blue hue that seemed to cover it, Alex knew he had found Cerulean City.

As he ventured closer, he wondered if Misty had returned, causing him to frown. Not only did she remind him so much of Jack, but she was one of the few whom he knew that had seen him with Lunala. He wondered how she would react. He was brought out of his thoughts as he passed by the city's welcome sign, reading it as he walked.

“The Floral Lagoon City, A Mysterious Blue Aura Surrounds It.”

As Alex came into the city, he could see people on bikes racing by and raised a hand in a wave. A few waved back with smiles. The bikes reminded him of his Condor Junior Roadracer, which he knew he had outgrown now. He continued on to the Pokemon Center to heal his pokemon and make sure they were ready to fight Misty later, where he felt deja vu as he looked at Nurse Joy. He had nearly forgotten for a second that the Joys and Jennys were all related, so this was going to take some getting used to.

“Hello.” greeted Nurse Joy, “How may I help you?”

“Could you please heal my pokemon?” Alex handed over 5 of his pokeballs, keeping Lunala's on his belt. He wanted to talk to Legendary later and learn how he was supposed to take care of her, but for now, she would be kept tucked away.

“Of course.” Nurse Joy nodded and took the pokeballs, going over to a machine on the side that had six, ball-shaped indents in a tray. She put the pokeballs in there and flipped a switch, causing the machine to light up before giving a ding and turning off. The woman then handed the pokeballs back to him with a smile.

“I didn't know you could heal pokemon that way.” Alex spoke, eyes on the strange machine, “I thought you had to heal pokemon individually.”

“We tend to, but only if the pokemon are seriously hurt. If they're not, we heal them with this machine and the trainers can go on their way.” explained the nurse.

“Well, thanks.”

“You're welcome.” Nurse Joe smiled as Alex left the counter and his pokemon came out on their own. They all stretched and yawned after being healed from the sleep powder before giving happy cries to find that Alex was okay. Illusion, Cerberus, and Survivor swarmed him and nearly knocked him over as Scar and Knight only smiled.

“Okay, okay!” Alex said, his words muffled as Survivor gripped his face, “I get you're happy to see me, but please get off!” They did so, though Illusion and Survivor clung to Alex's shoulders. Alex sat down on a nearby bench and sighed.

“I'm sorry I worried you.” he said, “But how was I supposed to know those things were poisonous?” he lowered his voice, “Apparently I've still got a lot to learn about this world, huh?” He gave a tense smile.

“Houn, dour dour houn hoho, dour ho?” _(Well, that's why we're here, isn't it?)_ Cerberus said, stretching up to put his paws on Alex's knees, “Houndo, do dour ho houn. Do houn hound do dour do hou do, hou hoho.” _(Besides, I'm just a baby. I know about as much as you do, you know.)_

“You certainly don't seem like you're a baby. You're older that you really are.” The words brought a tired frown to Alex's face, “Just like me...”

“Rua zo zorua ru ruazo Zozoru rua zo zoru?” _(Are we going to fight Misty now or what?)_ asked Illusion, raring to go and not wanting Alex to get depressed again.

“Well, if she got back here before we did, I'd be surprised. As it is, she's a Water-type user, so Survivor and Cerberus, I can't use you two. You'd both be at a disadvantage.” The two pokemon nodded in understanding as Alex continued, “Water-types are weak against Grass- and Electric-types as far as I know, and though we don't know those types of moves, we can still fight and do our best. You guys with me?” He got cheers in return and they caused him to smile. Alex stood up and we just about to leave the Center when he overheard Nurse Joy speaking on the phone.

“Nothing? Well, I hope he's okay...” she gave a sigh as she put the phone down. Against his better judgment, Alex went over to learn what was wrong.

“Is something going on?”

“Yes, but it's none of your concern.” Nurse Joy shook her head, not wanting to trouble him.

“Well, I'm not going to be fighting anyone soon, since I'm passing through,” Alex lied, “I could help with whatever's happening.”

“I suppose...” she said quietly to herself before continuing, “You see, to the north of the city is Cerulean Cape. That's where Bill lives. He regulates the Pokemon Transfer System.”

“What's that?” Alex had honestly never heard to the system before. Nurse Joy pointed to a computer beside her desk that was to Alex's right.

“You can use the computers in Pokemon Centers to store pokemon and take them out whenever or wherever you wish. Bill created the system, but no one's heard from him in a while. I asked a friend to go check on him, but so far there's nothing. And, since he's been gone, the Transfer system has been partially down, so no one can get their pokemon out, even if they do put pokemon in.” Alex nodded in understanding.

“I can head to the cape and check on Bill if you want, see if I can find something your friend missed.” _Or see if he's been kidnapped._ Alex added mentally.

“If you think it'd help, then you can try.” Nurse Joy said, “I hope you find him.”

“I hope I do, too.” Alex agreed, then left with his posse of pokemon. Outside, he pulled out his Town Map and checked it.

“Okay, going north will put us at Nugget Bridge and then we turn east to head down the cape to Bill's house.” Alex spoke, “Scar, I want you to stay out, since I think we're going to need you to scout things.” The Staravia nodded as Alex returned everyone else except Survivor. Scar took to the air and the group headed to Nugget Bridge, where they soon found out that it was swarmed with trainers. Needing to get past, Alex and his pokemon fought the five trainers, who got stronger as the boy went across the bridge, until he and Scar finally defeated the last one, a monkey-like pokemon Alex learned was a Mankey. In fact, there were several PokeDex entries Alex gained from all the pokemon he came across, including entries of the two pokemon he had encountered yesterday, the blue and pink ones.

“Caterpie, the Worm Pokemon. It is usually a weak pokemon, making it ideal for novice trainers, and when attacked releases a strong stench from the antenne on its head. It has a voracious appetite, making some believe that it wants to grow quickly with how much it eats, and can devour leaves bigger than its body right before your eyes. The suction cups on its feet allow it to climb trees to reach its food, though the suction is strong enough to allow it to climb any surface.

“Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokemon. It has an extremely acute sense of smell and is capable of distinguishing its favorite kinds of leaves from those it dislikes just by sniffing with its big red proboscis. It is brightly colored to deter predators from eating it, as it is quite poisonous, and fends off attackers with the needle on its head.

“Metapod, the Cocoon Pokemon and the evolved form of Caterpie. It has a very strong shell but very soft insides and the shell will eventually crack if too much stress it put upon it, so avoid tense battles if you are training one. It also cannot move at all, if very little, so it is forced to endure whatever comes its way as it waits to evolve.

“Kakuna, the Cocoon Pokemon and the evolved form of Weedle. Unable to move at all or at least very little, it tends to cling to a tree as it waist for evolution. It seems to work hard, as its shell is sometimes hot to the touch. Though the shell is very hard, it can still crack, so the pokemon defends itself by sticking out a poisonous stinger at the bottom of the cocoon.

“Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokemon. The Rookie Bird of Kanto, it can sometimes also be considered the Rookie Bird of Johto if you want to be technical. It has an extremely sharp sense of direction and is capable of unerringly returning home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings. It is usually docile, but if disturbed, it will viciously attack and can kick up whirls of sand with its wings to protect itself.

“Oddish, the Weed Pokemon. Its scientific name is “Oddium Wanderus” and usually only moves about at night, as it sows its seeds and grows because of moonlight. It is said it walks nearly 1,000 feet on its roots during its nightly walks. It searches for fertile, nutrient-rich soil, then plants itself. During the daytime, while it is planted, its feet are thought to change shape and become similar to the roots of trees. And the more fertile the soil is, the glossier its leaves become.

“Bellsprout, the Flower Pokemon. Its thin and flexible body lets it bend and sway to avoid any attack, however strong it may be, and it uses these quick movements to capture prey. But if it is rooted, it cannot escape, and from its mouth it spits a corrosive fluid that melts even iron, allowing it to eat whatever it may come across, as it is carnivorous. Its bud looks like a human face and because of that, it is rumored to be a type of legendary mandrake plant.

“Ekans, the Snake Pokemon. It curls itself up in a spiral while it rests, usually after eating. Assuming this position allows it to quickly respond to a threat from any direction with a glare from its upraised head. It can dislocate its jaw to swallow its food whole, which is usually Bird Pokemon eggs, though they can sometimes get stuck and cause the pokemon to choke. It sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind, usually sniffing the air with the tongue it sometimes flicks out. The older it gets, the longer it grows, and when first born, it has no venom.

“Nidoran Male, the Poison Pin Pokemon. Because it has such large ears, it has developed muscles for moving its ears. Thanks to them, the ears can be freely moved in any direction. Even the slightest sound does not escape its notice and if listening to something in the distance, the ears flap to catch the sound. If sensing danger, it will strike first with its toxic horn and the bigger the horn, the more poison it produces.

“Nidoran Female, the Poison Pin Pokemon. Its small and prefers not to fight but is covered in poisonous barbs, ready to use if needed. The poison it contains in its body it very powerful, so even the smallest scratch can be fatal. The poison in its horn can become stronger when its enraged.

“Mankey, the Pig Monkey Pokemon. It and its evolution Primeape are known for their anger and are very rarely calm. If it gets angry, other Mankey and Primeape around it get angry while other pokemon clear out. The loneliness afterwords causes it to get even angrier and it can tire itself out from the anger, but the anger in its dreams cause it to wake up and make it even madder, causing a nearly endless cycle. And when it's mad, it can't distinguish friend from foe, making it a hard pokemon to train.”

As Alex listened to the entries while he and his pokemon fought other trainers, he wondered how he managed to survive getting poisoned by two Nidoran, especially by the girl. Had his pokemon cured him with the Antidotes in his backpack? But those were only made for pokemon, so maybe there was a natural cure out there somewhere. Alex knew there was a lot about this world he had yet to learn and he found he was looking forward to it. Even though he didn't know many people or why he was here, it gave him a sort of safe excitement, because even though there were bad people here, he could still do a lot of things he wasn't able to do in his world. And, so far, there was no MI6 or other intelligence agencies, so that was also a bonus.

As Scar landed after taking out the Mankey, Alex brought out a Potion and healed the Staravia. After exchanging goodbyes with Camper Ethan, Alex continued to the end of the bridge and met a mysterious new man. Instantly the boy was on edge slightly, but the man's smile was pretty disarming.

“Congrats for beating all the Trainers on the bridge!” he praised, then held out a hand, “Here's a prize.” Alex slowly took the item out of the man's hand, which turned out to be a golden nugget. Alex was very surprised by this, as this had to be worth a whole lot and explained why the bridge was called Nugget Bridge. If all trainers got this as a prize at the end, Alex could see how the bridge got is nickname. As he put the item away, the man continued, “Since you're so strong, how would you like to join Team Rocket?” Instantly this sent Alex, Survivor, and Scar on edge, especially the Cubone, who now looked like he wanted to bash the man's head in.

“We're a group of people who specialize in Pokemon, like protecting them and helping them get stronger!” said the man, not seeming to be affected by Alex's and his pokemon's change in attitude, “Wanna join?”

“No thanks.” Alex said coldly, “But I suggest you get out of here.” Survivor hopped off of Alex's shoulder and growled.

“Hmm?” The man glanced between Alex and the very angry Cubone at his feet, “...You know, don't you?”

“I know you're lying through your teeth, if that's what you mean.” Alex said. The man frowned before, with a flourish, he threw off his clothes. Underneath he was dressed in a Rocket uniform, like the kind Cassidy and Butch were wearing.

“Well, since you know about Team Rocket, I guess I'll have to make you join!” He threw out an Ekans that hissed and curled up, ready for a fight. Scar growled, wanting to get in on it, but Alex held him back.

“This is Survivor's fight.” he said, “Let him handle this.” Scar looked to Alex, then nodded and backed down. Scar had heard of the grudge Survivor had against Team Rocket and supposed that he could leave this fight alone unless it got too bad.

“Glare!” commanded the Rocket. Ekans' gaze suddenly intensified, making Survivor flinch. Alex hadn't heard of the move before, but with how Survivor wasn't attacked and just flinched (he had learned most flinching was a side-effect of attack moves), he thought in might have caused paralysis, so that was something he was going to have to deal with through the fight.

“Bonemerang!” Alex said. He knew that, while paralyzed, Survivor wouldn't be able to much and if he did, it would be slow. His best bet to win the fight would be to use a move that acted on its own, like Bonemerang. Survivor nodded and threw the bone into the air. At first it missed Ekans and the snake-like pokemon laughed, until it came back around and hit the pokemon about three times, knocking it out. The Rocket growled and released his second pokemon, a blue bat-like one that seemed to be a younger version of a Golbat. Alex assumed this was the Zubat mentioned in the PokeDex entry, the pre-evolved form, and brought out his 'Dex to make sure.

“Zubat, the Bat Pokemon. Because it has no eyes, it uses ultrasonic waves to find its way around. Its skin is so thin that it can burn easily in sunlight, which is why they stay in caves. If it's cold out, they gather together in groups to warm up.” Alex could tell from the way the pokemon was flying about in a weird, flappy way, that it was disliking the sunlight. To help it, Alex was going to make this fight quick.

“Leer!” he said before realizing that it might not work on Zubat because the pokemon couldn't see. But, much to his surprise, the bat flinched slightly, possibly feeling the effects of the move, even though it couldn't see the glare.

“Supersonic!” Zubat let out a screech at Survivor, causing the Cubone to cry out and cover its ears. But after the Zubat had finished, Survivor was wobbling and had swirls in his eyes. Alex grit his teeth, knowing Survivor couldn't fight confused and paralyzed. The boy prepared to return the pure Ground-type but was interrupted when the Rocket had the Zubat attack again.

“Wing Attack!” The Zubat descended, its wings glowing, and was just about to hit Survivor when it was suddenly snatched out of the air. It squeaked and struggled against the claw around it until it was let go, where it then came face-to-face with an angry Scar.

“Star sta ra ravia.” _(That was a dirty trick.)_ growled the Staravia, “Stara ra ravia!” _(Fight me instead!)_ Alex returned Survivor and gave a grateful look to Scar, who looked back and gave a nod. The Rocket hadn't been expecting this turn of events but quickly recovered, calling out, “Use Bite!” The Zubat opened its mouth wide and tried to bite down on Scar while he was still close, but the Staravia moved away quickly, dodging without need for Alex's command.

“Double Team!” Alex hoped the speed-created images would be able to confused the Zubat, and judging by the confused clicks it was making, it was definitely wondering why there were so many Staravias.

“Leech Life!” The Zubat flew about, its fangs getting longer as it bit at the copies, trying to find the right one.

“Dodge with Quick Attack and use Steel Wing!” Scar's copies flew about quickly before the real one flew past and knocked Zubat out of the sky with a Steel Wing. Zubat righted itself, but before it could attack again or even do anything, Scar smacked it again twice. Even though it had no eyes, from the way it flopped onto the ground and didn't get up again, Alex was pretty sure that the Zubat was knocked out. The Rocket returned to small pokemon before high-tailing it out of there, running past Alex and across the bridge. Alex considered going after him to get him arrested but the Rocket was easy to defeat. It wouldn't be long before he got caught on his own, so the blond left it be. He turned back and saw Scar land with a hop, giving a shake to fluff his feathers.

“Good job.” praised the boy, rubbing Scar's head. Scar trilled at the petting and leaned into Alex's hand. Alex continued to pet the Normal-/Flying type while taking out Survivor's pokeball.

“Do you think we should head back and heal him before moving on?” Alex wondered, “Or do we keep going and look for Bill?” Scar took his head away from Alex's hand and looked to the pokeball.

“Ia stara ra ravia star ar ar ravi ravia.” _(I think he would want us to keep going.)_ answered the pokemon, “Staravaia stara ravi ar ra via via ar sta stara ra. Ia ravia ra ravi ra sta sta via raviasta Raravi Via ara, vi vi stara ra sta ravi via.” _(Paralysis doesn't hurt us at all and we can stand it. He heard as much as you did how worried Nurse Joy was, so it might be our best bet.)_ Alex thought about it, then nodded.

“As long as we don't come across any more Rockets, I'm game.” Scar nodded and took to the sky once more, flying about as Alex continued on his way.


	19. The Catalyst of Legends

As they went along the route, Alex and Scar, as well as most of Alex's other pokemon, continued to fight trainers and make their way to the end. As they went along, the route seemed to go higher and higher in elevation until they were walking on a cliff overlooking the sea. In the distance, both a lighthouse and a cottage could be seen, the cottage on the way to the lighthouse, but then Scar came down from his view in the sky with a worried look on his face.

"Ravravi."  _(Rockets.)_ was all he said.

"At the cottage?" Scar nodded, "Okay, I want you to stay on the ground. They'll know Staravias aren't from Kanto if they spot you. Did you see how many there were?"

"Ia ravia sta starav, staravia sta ravia. Iarav staravi raviaia."  _(At least two outside, guarding the house. Maybe another inside.)_

"You stay in some trees nearby. I'm going to try getting in the house another way." At this, Scar gave a squawk of shock.

"Star?! Ra!" _(What?! No!)_

"I can't fight them head-on and you know it." Alex shot back, "You guys, even you, are too injured or have ailments I can't heal. I don't want to risk your lives." Scar was about to protest again when Alex went on, "I'm not bringing out Lunala, either, I don't want them coming after me because I've got a Legendary." he gave his pokemon a glare, "You aren't going to fight me on this, Scar, trust me when I say I've done this before. Now, get to a vantage point to watch." Scar weakly glared back before nodding and taking to the sky again, but not as high as before. He skimmed along the treetops before spotting the Rockets again and hiding in the limbs to watch. He had a bad feeling about this, but Alex was right. They were all strong, but they were tired from all the fighting. Going on to fight another fight wouldn't be good for them and might even cost Alex the fight if they failed. They didn't want to do that, but Scar also didn't want to see what would happen to Alex if he was caught.

* * *

Once Scar was gone, Alex stayed low and slowly, quietly made his way through the trees until he came to the cottage. As Scar had said, there were two girl Rockets guarding the entrance. There were no pokemon out, but Alex knew he couldn't engage in a fight, especially if someone was held hostage inside and there was another Rocket somewhere Alex couldn't see. He sprinted around the house, low to the ground, and scaled the fence with as little noise as possible. Once he was past that, he stuck to the side of the house and searched for a window to look into. When he found one, he saw a boy Rocket with an Ekans and a floating purple ball with a crossbones symbol inside with another man, who seemed to be held hostage. Alex supposed it was Bill and knew now that things had taken a turn for the worse.

"What will it take to get the Transfer System offline for good?" growled the Rocket.

"It's not supposed to go off!" argued Bill, "I can't just shut it down!"

"Find a way to do it or else!" Alex ducked his head down so no one would see him and wondered what to do. He had no backup and the only one who knew where he was was Nurse Joy back in Cerulean City. However, if he could just make it back to the trees, he could head back and get help. But he couldn't take long, otherwise something might happen. But would it be better for him to ask one of the trainers to get help before coming back here? And why did the Rockets want the Transfer System shut down? It made no sense to him. As he thought about this, he snuck around the sides of the house, hoping to find an empty room to sneak into. He soon came across an electrical box on the outside of the house and it gave him an idea, but it was dangerous and he wasn't sure that it was as good as it seemed.

"Cerberus?" he brought the Houndour out and covered his mouth to keep the pokemon from making any loud sound by accident, "Listen, I need you to use Thunder Fang on that metal box. Don't ask why and it'll be dangerous, but someone else needs our help. Also, stay quiet." Cerberus nodded and once he was released, his mouth sparked with electricity and he bit into the box. Sparks flew slightly before the entire house went dark and there were cries of surprise. Alex grabbed Cerberus under his arm and raced to a window he had found that led into an empty room. He opened the window and they climbed in, quietly closing the window. Cerberus padded along as silent as Alex as they went over to the closed door, ears pricked to listen.

"The h*ll?! What happened?!"

"The power must have had a surge." Bill said, a confused note in his voice, "It's not even storming outside."

"I'll go check it out. Koffing, you stay here. Ekans, you're with me." The snake's scales scraped against the wood floor as it slithered out with its partner and Alex took the slight noise to softly open the door a crack. He and Cerberus peeked through just in time to see the front door close. There was Bill and the floating purple ball, which meant that it was a Koffing, as the Rocket had called it. Alex didn't know how much time he had, but they had to make this quick. He turned to the Houndour beside him and held out a hand with three fingers. Cerberus seem to get the gesture and nodded, where Alex counted down.  _Three, two, one-_ To which they burst out of the room and Cerberus jumped at the Koffing, attacking it with a Thunder Fang. Koffing flinched as an electric wave swept over it, indicating paralysis as Alex grabbed Bill and they scrambled back to the room where Alex and his pokemon had come in. Cerberus ran after them and they ran as far and as fast as they could after getting out of the house, jumping the fence and running into the trees.

"Hou...hou...hou..." Cerberus panted as they finally slowed down and slopped, hearing no one chasing after them and if they were, they were far behind.

"Thanks..." Bill gasped as he panted as well. Alex could only nod as Scar landed, the only human who wasn't out of breath.

"Would that power surge have turned off the Transfer System?" asked Alex, hoping he hadn't made things worse.

"No, not at all." Bill had been leaning on his knees, but now he straightened up, "They can't make the Transfer System go completely offline without going to the source, and it's not at the cottage. But thanks again, for saving me." Bill held out a hand, "I'm Bill."

"Alex. These are Scar and Cerberus." Alex picked up the little Dark-/Fire-type, "Nurse Joy was worried about you and I offered to check on you."

"Well, thanks again." Bill gave a look behind them, "But without me, those Rockets should be leaving soon."

"You can't go back yet." Alex reasoned, "They might be sticking around to search for you. We should go back to Cerulean and inform the police."

"Yeah, that might be a better idea." Bill nodded, seeing the sense in the idea, and they started walking together, Scar walking with them easily, "But that was really brave, what you did. Taking on 3 Rockets with only a Houndour and Staravia? That's either good strategy or a lot of luck!"

"Probably luck. I saw that you were in trouble and did what was needed as I went." Alex had blushed slightly from the praise, "Besides, I've fought the Rockets before and Nurse Joy was worried. I wasn't going to go back without making sure nothing happened."

"Then you also know how dangerous they are."

"Yeah." Alex took out a pokeball, "In here is Survivor, a Cubone and my first pokemon. His mother was killed by the Rockets and he's been traveling with me ever since. So yes, I've got a history with the Rockets."

"That's awful, but not one of the worst things I've heard about them." Bill looked to Alex, "So are you a crime-fighter or something?"

"No." Alex put Survivor's pokeball away, "Just in the right place at the right time. Also, Nurse Joy sent someone else to check on you, but they didn't see anything, I guess."

"No one came by except the Rockets." Bill frowned, "Sometimes I get so stuck on my research that I forget to answer the phone or talk to people, so she does that sometimes. I always answer, though, so maybe one of those Rockets was the one she sent after me."

"What a cruel trick to play, then." Alex glanced behind them to make sure they weren't being followed, "And was that all they wanted? Just to shut down the Transfer System?"

"Pretty much. I used to have the prototype, too, until someone stole it." Bill shook his head, frowning, "I have no idea who could've stolen it, only that they did it quickly and had to have very strong pokemon."

"What was the prototype and why would someone steal it?"

"It was for the Transfer System, basically two cylinders that transfer one thing into the other, as long as one of them is empty. It's actually very dangerous, because if you have two people or pokemon or a mix, one in each tube, you can actually combine them." Bill gave a sigh, "I should know, it happened to me!" Alex glanced at Bill from the corner of his eye. If that was true and the machine was as big as Bill said it was, then it would have taken a lot of effort to grab it, especially if Bill wasn't gone for long. But who would want to use it to combine living things? Maybe Team Rocket, but then why did they come back to deal with the Transfer System? Unless the prototype still connected to the System and if so, their experiments could accidentally be transferred out.

"Do the police know that the prototype was stolen?"

"Of course they do! It's just there's no clues to where it could be and it's been gone for months."

"And if it's so dangerous, why didn't you destroy it?" This caused Bill to quiet for a few moments.

"...Maybe because I thought it could be used in an emergency, or that I could take the bug out of it? I don't know, really." he gave a shrug, "But with what's happened, I'm sure that I should have destroyed it." It was at that moment that they finally exited the forest, only to find themselves cornered. The rockets were there and had them surrounded, Ekans, Koffing (who seemed to be cured of the paralysis from earlier), a Rattata, and another pokemon standing at attention. The strange pokemon seemed to be made entirely out of purple sludge with eyes and when it lifted itself up, a mouth could be made from the separation of the sludge. Cerberus and Scar growled, ready for a fight despite their exhaustion, and much to Alex's surprise, Illusion, Knight, and even Survivor forced themselves out of their pokeballs to help. It was 5-against-4, but all of Alex pokemon were tired and hurt, they didn't stand much of a chance.

"If you think you can beat us with that pitiful team, kid, then think again!" one of the girl Rockets said and a jibe at them. Alex frowned, ready to fight for his pokemon himself if needed, until Bill brought out his own pokemon. There were four of them, none of which Alex recognized, but they were at least full of energy, unlike his own. There was a small red fox with many tails, a giant blue sea serpent, a walking palm tree with coconuts for faces, and a brown bird that carried a vegetable stalk. At this, the Rockets seem intimidated.

"Exeggutor, Hypnosis!" All of the eyes on the palm tree's coconuts lit up and sent out waves over the Rockets' pokemon, where they all fell asleep. The blue sea serpent slithered forward slightly to growl at them, where they quickly returned their pokemon and made a run for it.

"Thanks." Alex said as they both returned their pokemon, "Why didn't you bring them out before?"

"Well, I wasn't gonna leave you behind and ride away on my Farfetch'd! Besides, if I had tried, the Rockets would have taken my pokemon away."

"Why didn't they do it the first time?"

"Well, most people don't think I use pokemon, even though I made the Transfer System." Bill gestured to himself, "And I don't blame them! But your pokemon, coming out for you even though they were exhausted and hurt... That's really brave."

"I guess." Alex looked at his pokeballs, imagining the tired but determined looks his pokemon wore as they stared right back up at him, "They could have gotten themselves killed, especially Survivor. He's in no shape to fight with his paralysis, but he still came out."

"That's because he cares about you." Alex looked to Bill at those words and the researcher went on, "They all care about you and would have come out regardless, no matter the circumstances. I can see the strong bond you already have with them, even if you don't see it." Bill gave a pat to the boy's shoulder, "Now come on, we're not far from Nugget Bridge or the police!" And with that, the two began running, hoping no more Rockets would jump them.

* * *

Zekrom gave a growl, feeling that something was off in Dragonspiral Tower as N climbed off its back. N didn't leave the Legendary's side, one hand on Zekrom as he looked around.

"I feel it too, friend." N frowned, "But what could cause this feeling?" Zekrom's tail hummed as it continued to spin, causing electricity to crackle through the air, "Do you wish to see more of the tower and see what's wrong?" Zekrom rumbled a positive response and the two walked forward together, wary. Suddenly, from above, a net appeared and fell over Zekrom. The Legendary gave an alarmed cry and, with a flick of a hand, accidentally sent N tumbling out of the way of the net. Zekrom roared, shaking the tower as its tail grew faster and faster, shocking the net, but nothing happened. After that, Zekrom tried to break it, thrashing and clawing at it with Dragon Claw, but still nothing happened to the net. Nothing worked on the net, not even Fusion Bolt, Zekrom's most powerful move, and because of all the thrashing, it was exhausting itself quickly.

"Zekrom, stop!" N tried to warn, but the Legendary was too distressed to listen, especially as the net suddenly grew stronger around Zekrom, bringing the Dragon-/Electric-type to the ground. Zekrom groaned, trying to bring up a claw to fight, but it could pull against the net far enough to actually made a scrape. And the sound of clapping suddenly rang through the air, causing N to look back to see, much to his astonishment,  _Alex_  there. The boy was wearing different clothes, certainly, but it was definitely Alex, there was no mistaking the face!

"I was waiting for one of the Legendaries to come, but so quick and carrying a trainer?" he shook his head, "Never mind. Wrestler, Jet, take him down." Out of the shadows came a Gible and a Machop and N was helpless to stop them from holding him back, as he had no other pokemon than Zekrom.

"Alex, what are you doing?!" he cried, wondering where the boy's Cubone was. At this the boy stopped clapping with a look of hatred quickly forming on his face. He stalked over to N and grabbed him by the shirt, putting off a seething air, and N knew that this couldn't have been Alex. Alex, even in the short time N had met him and observed him, was not quick to anger and was much more calm than this importer, whoever he was.

"First, I'm not that d*mn Alex Rider! My name is Julius Grief! Second," a large smile came to Julius' face, "If you know Alex, then you can tell me where he is!"

"What do you want with him?" N growled, not willing to give up his new friend, as this boy seemed to want to do more than just revenge to Alex. Julius began to search his pockets, possibly for pokeballs, as the blond answered, "Oh, I just want to see the shocked look on his face as I stab him in the chest over and over again, watching him die and bleed out at my hands. Nothing much." N grew horrified at this, as no person, even Ghetsis for all his insanity, was that crazy and bloodlustful. The boy 'hmph'ed when he found no pokeballs and stood back up.

"If you can't tell me, then I'm taking Zekrom by force and getting rid of you." Julius took a large knife out of a backpack he had set aside when coming into the light, "Stole this from one of the confiscation boxes in Mistralton and they never seemed to notice it was gone. Now I can put it to good use."

"Wait!" N tried to stall him, thinking of something, "Why do you want to kill me when I've done nothing?"

"You're a witness." Julius tapped the tip of the knife against his thigh as he stopped for a second to think, "I could either kill you or I could let you go and spread my terror. But that's what happened with Alex and I've already let loose a few witnesses. I'm not sure if I need anymore." Julius shrugged, "Guess I kill you, then."

"I could help you communicate with your pokemon!" N was running out of options.

"No need, I can already do that. The only thing that could save you now is if you tell me where Alex Rider is, right now." Julius was now in front of N, the knife-wielding hand curled back and ready to stab, "So? Are you willing to give him up to save your own life? You've got 10 seconds. 10..." N's thoughts flew, trying to figure out if telling Julius where Alex was was a good idea. He could just tell Julius the region and let the mad boy search, as Alex would also be moving, even if he didn't know Julius was after him, but he would also let loose this monster on another region that didn't deserve it. N didn't know what to do and his time was running out.

"3..." Julius hummed, "2... 1..."

"Krom!" _(Wait!)_ Zekrom cried, "Ze zek rom rom krom, zek ekro zek!" _(If you let him live, I'll tell you!)_

"Chivalrous I see. But alright." Julius waved a hand, "throw him out of the hole instead." Zekrom gave a squawk of fear, renewing its struggles as the two tiny pokemon began to drag N with them to the hole, though Jet the Gible seemed to be shaking slightly, as if the pokemon wasn't liking this one bit.

"Why do you follow his orders when you know this is wrong?" asked N in a whisper. Jet shook his head as they got closer to the giant hole, where the moat around the tower could be seen far below.

"Gib gi gible. Ble giblegi bleblegible." _(He's my master. You wouldn't understand.)_ Before N could ask further, with a heave, Wrestler the Machop threw him out of Jet's grip and into the open air, where Zekrom's distressed cry could be heard clearly, and then there was pain and darkness as he hit the water.

"Now that he's taken care of," Julius turned to Zekrom, who had still for the first time since arriving, "time to catch you."

" _Zekrom_."  _(_ Never _.)_  said the Legendary quietly, anger fully in its voice. Julius took a purple pokeball out of his pocket and gazed at it briefly, as if trying to remember its colors.

"Oh you stupid pokemon, you  _don't have a choice_!" And then the purple pokeball was thrown at Zekrom and the Legendary was pulled inside. Zekrom fought against the net that closed over it, trying to get out so that it could get its revenge on Julius, but the net was too strong. The Dragon-/Electric-type couldn't break it, and soon enough the ball gave off a beep, signaling that Zekrom was caught for good. The Legendary, for all of his belief in ideals and his own strength, began to cry as the pokeball was picked up. He saw Julius' smiling, smug face looking at him and heard the boy speak, though it was slightly distorted.

"I bet you're wondering how you, of all pokemon, got caught. Well, the pokeball you're in is called a Master Ball and can catch any pokemon without fail." Julius twirled the pokeball on his finger, "You have no idea how much work I put into getting this for you. And now that I have you, it won't be long now until I can get Rider. But first, you promised to tell me where he is!" Julius threw up the pokeball and Zekrom came out, which the Legendary saw as the boy's mistake. With a roar of revenge, Zekrom used Dragon Claw on Julius, who opened another pokeball, this one of blue and white. Instead of hitting the evil boy, Zekrom was blasted back painfully by a flash of pink light. The Legendary groaned and got to its feet, where it saw what had blocked its attack: Xerneas, the Life Legendary of Kalos.

"Zekromze?!"  _(Xerneas?!)_  cried Zekrom, "Ekro zek zek ekrom?!"  _(What are you doing?!)_  And, just as Jet had told N, Xerneas gave Zekrom a similar answer.

"Xer as xerne eas As xe xerneas xe eas. Ne nexerne xerneasxer."  _(He's my master and I am chained to him. You wouldn't understand.)_

"Now that you two have met each other, tell me where Alex Rider is!" Julius ordered, "Or be met with another dose of Moonblast, Zekrom!" The Legendary winced, its half Dragon-typing did not make it a good match against Xerneas, so Zekrom had no choice but to answer.

"Zekrom. Rom ze Zekrom."  _(Kanto. He's in Kanto.)_

"That's all I needed to know." Julius returned the two, as well as Jet and Wrestler, "Now I just have to work up the money to get there..." Grinning at his new capture, Julius went over to his backpack, where Blade had been waiting. The blond put the knife he still had in his hand in the backpack before putting it on and together, the boy and the Pawniard walked out of Dragonspiral. The pokemon they walked past were all defeated, Mienshaos, Golurks, and Druddigons,with their pre-evolutions staying in the shadows, scared of the dark boy. The whole trap and the defeat of all the pokemon had been made by J and her goons after Julius had paid for her services, as well as the gift of the Master Ball, but everything else was his idea. And now he could go after Alex Rider, the bane of his existence.

_Just perfect._

* * *

Outside the tower was a different story, though. After N had plunged into the water and been knocked out by the force of his body hitting the water, he had been taken to the surface by both types of Basculin and pulled ashore by a Dragonair. Other pokemon were around, looking at the green-haired teen in worry, knowing of how special he was. An Audino made her way over and checked N, making sure he had no more water in his system, and healed him with Heal Pulse. The healing properties of the move also allowed him to wake up, where he sat up and looked around.

"Oh, oh my. Thank you, all of you, for saving me, but a friend of mine is in danger! I must go help him!" N got to his feet, then realized he hadn't a good idea of the direction back to Icirrus City, "Er, could one of you please lead me back?" A Tranquill walked over to him and nodded before taking to the sky, offering his services. The other pokemon scattered but watched as N left with the guide of the Tranquill, knowing that something had happened in the Tower and he had possible fought whoever was causing the mess. They silently cheered him on, hoping he would help his friend and perhaps clear up the bad feeling around the Tower soon.

N followed the Tranquill to Icirrus City until he could see it and thanked the Tranquill for the help, running the rest of the way. He had to get to the city's Gym Leader, Brycen, warn him of what Julius was planning to do, and hope that the Gym Leader could use his connections to warn his counterparts in Kanto to warn and/or defend Alex. When he reached the front of the gym, however, there was a sign hanging in front, which said 'The gym is closed because Brycen has quit and there is no new gym leader yet.' N shook his head, he hadn't known about this, and now his only choices to warn Alex were to head to the nearest gyms, Skyla in Mistralton and Drayden in Opelucid, respectively. As Mistralton was farther and across Twist Mountain, N knew he had to go see Drayden. He hoped he would listen to him, but how was he supposed to get there without any pokemon? He wished he had Zekrom, but hoped his ability to speak and empathize with pokemon would help him. That it mind, he set out for Opelucid, head held high in confidence.

_I only hope I'm not too late..._

* * *

After informing the police of the incident at the Sea Cottage, Alex and Bill were resting in the Pokemon Center as Alex's pokemon got healed.

"You know, you could have used your Refresh Kit to heal Survivor's paralysis."

"Sometimes I forget to use it." Alex sighed, "But at least he's okay now." Bill nodded.

"And I feel sorry for Nurse Joy, having to tell her her friend was actually a Rocket." Alex nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but hopefully she'll be okay."

"Oh, by the way," Bill dug through his pockets before pulling out a slip of paper and handing it to Alex, "that's a pass for the S.S. Anne and lets you board the ship whenever you want more than once. I didn't know how to really thank you for saving me, so I hope this helps!"

"Where is the S.S. Anne and where does it go?"

"It's a cruise liner stationed in Vermilion City, south of here. You have to pass through Saffron to get there or the Underground Path, which takes you under Saffron, but either way, you need Cut to get past the trees blocking the route. I can do that for you, but that's as far as I'm going. I've still got research to do!" Alex gazed at the ticket as Bill went on, "Anyway, the cruiser docks at all the major port cities around the world and only stops here in Vermilion once a year, so you want to be quick to catch it!"

"Can it take me to Unova?"

"Sure it can! But it might take a while, it's not reliable on its pattern of where it goes." Alex tapped his fingers on the table of the booth they were sitting at, speculating. There was no real problem for him to deal with, he and his pokemon could take a vacation for a while, couldn't they? Especially if it brought him to Unova, where he could catch up to the impostor.

"I think I'll take up the offer. I need to head to Unova and relaxing on the way seems like a good way to do it."

"They we can start tomorrow or so, after this hectic day I need to rest."

"I'll come see you when I'm ready, then. I want to challenge the gym leader here before I go."

"If you're doing that, then good luck! And there's another gym leader in Vermilion if you want to fight him, his name's Lt. Surge and he uses Electric-types." Bill waved a hand, "Your Cubone, being a Ground-type, isn't affected by Electric-type moves, but Surge has ways to work around that, so leave him as your trump card."

"Good idea." Alex agreed, "And you didn't have to give me the ticket. I know you wanted to give me a gift, but your own pass to the S.S. Anne? Why?" Bill shrugged.

"Well, it's not like I use the pass all that much anyway, and if you need it, it's fine with me for you to keep it." Alex felt uncomfortable accepting the gift, but didn't argue anymore. Sliding the pass into his pocket, both he and Bill looked up when Nurse Joy spoke up from her desk, informing them that Alex's pokemon were now healed. She still seemed quite sad, though, as they came over.

"Thank you." said Alex as he took out his pokemon. Survivor also came out of his pokeball to give Nurse Joy a hug, as if knowing how she felt. She hugged the pokemon back and then gave him back to Alex, where Survivor then rested on the blond's shoulder.

"Well thank you, Cubone." Nurse Joy said, "I needed that."

"Bonecu cubonebo." _(You're welcome.)_ Survivor nodded.

"Also helps that he lost his mother to Team Rocket." Alex mentioned quietly so that only Bill and Nurse Joy could hear, "So just keep in mind that, though your friend was a Rocket, you don't have it as bad as you could." Survivor nodded in agreement.

"Oh, I...I'm sorry." Alex and Survivor shook their heads.

"Don't worry about it, it's happened and there's nothing we can do." Alex waved goodbye to Joy and Bill as he and Survivor went off, probably to book a room for the night at the Center.

"W-well, Thanks for the help, Nurse Joy." Bill rubbed the back of his head, feeling uncomfortable now, and quickly fled the Center. Nurse Joy ignored Bill's leaving and wondered about Alex and his pokemon. She didn't have long to dwell, as she soon had to deal with more trainers coming in either wanting to heal their pokemon or asking for a room for the night.


End file.
